213 Miles From Shea

Earlier this month Nickeas cleared waivers as he was removed from the 40 man roster. He was assigned to Triple A Las Vegas (which still is odd to type).

Yesterday, Mike Nickeas elected free agency, ending his current time with the Mets, not withstanding a reunion. Mike is 29 years old, and in three seasons over 172 AB’s he batted .180 with 12 runs, 31 hits, 4 doubles, 2 homers and 19 RBI’s. I was at the game this year when he hit his really improbable grand slam in the stomping of the Giants.

Even though Mike was only up with the Mets for three seasons, and really only two seasons (2010 he played only 5 games) it felt like Mike was with us longer. This year more than others, he seemed more important than he was in that his existence on the roster represented what was wrong with the Mets as a whole. Happy Trails Mike. You were a nice guy, just not the direction the team needed.

(Although, I have an odd feeling that he may be back, and I don’t know why)

A couple of days ago, the Astros unveiled the worst kept secret this offseason as they showed off their new uniforms. We’ll step through later this week.

An interesting note was made about the Astros BP uniform, that it will double as the Astros second alternative uniform on Sundays for games:

So far this doesn’t impact the Mets at all, until you put the pieces together about the Mets uniforms for next year. Rumors have been circulating that the Mets will have two new Blue alternate uniforms, but one of them sounded identical to the BP uniform the Mets had last year. That would mean the Mets would either need a new batting practice uniform, which is still a possibility, and would be the 7th uniform for the Mets next year. Or the Mets may double on their blue uniform and wear it during games. Or, the BP and the Blue uniform would look identical and just be made out of different material.

I guess we’ll find out in two weeks.

I escaped Newark this weekend to get some electricity, and I’ve been working backwards through what was apparently a very busy week in baseball. I came across this small headline:

“Braves claim Jordan Schafer from Astros”

Now that seems like a small move, which it is. But that name should sound familiar to you.

Jordan Schafer was traded from the Braves to the Astros! He was the centerpiece of the Braves package! Back in 2011 the Braves traded Schafer along with minor leaguers Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens, and Juan Abreu.

Schafer will be 26 next season and still hasn’t lived up to his initial hype, thus why he was put on waivers to begin with. I also find it odd though when a player gets traded from their home organization to then immediately returned to that same organization.

Nyjer Morgan elected for Free Agency today after declining a placement to Triple A (he was removed from the 40 man last year).

If the price is right, and I’m talking minor league contract right, I think the Mets should take a risk on Nyjer Morgan.

The Mets OF ended up being a revolving door last year with players not grasping the opportunity of other players failing to play at a major league level. If we ignore the possibility of talent in Morgan, he could at least kick start the competition in spring to bring out everyone’s best.

In four of his six seasons in the majors, Morgan has hit over .294, including twice over .300. Two of his last three seasons were his worst hitting .253 and most recently .239.

The strong reason against Morgan is that he lacks power, which is what the Mets need, however he does have a lot of speed and if he can be had for cheap, he could be an interesting back up piece in the outfield. If he has an average season, he’ll probably rack up 25 steals, about 15 doubles, 4 triples and 2 homers. His best asset is his defense, which would be welcomed in Citi Field.

Thoughts?

From the realm of, “Things I thought I would never ask myself” comes the question, “Should the Mets Consider Victorino?”

Victorino is coming off of a down year compared to his previous years, meaning his value has slightly diminished. He is also 31 and is ready for his next generation contract, so he could demand a good chunk of change, depending on what happens to other similar OF’s like him (Melky Cabrera). There is also serious angst against him in New York, although I feel that would change with a sizable contract.

Reasons for signing Victorino would deal with his style of play. He has a lot of speed, some pop, has led the league twice in triples in the last few years and is a reliable outfielder.

The Mets really do need power, and Victorino is not going to hit a ton of homers, but in a good year he’ll consistently put up about 15. The last three years he has a drop in his average, but his OBP has stayed consistent. The real aspect he brings to the team is speed. He can steal a lot of bases, which the Mes were hoping from Torres but didn’t get. In that respect, Victorino could change the shape of the lineup.

As a disclaimer, I am a believer in stolen bases as an overvalued statistic, but I do believe they are good indicator of speed, something the Mets could use more of, especially in the outfield where the defense was a mess for the majority of year.

The reasons to not sign Victorino deal with the decline in batting average, his lack of above average power and the contract he could demand. Out of those three, the contract will be the largest issue. For the Mets, it isn’t just related to the money issue but the time. This team is going to be flush with young talent in 2014-15. At that time this team will need good veterans that are just leaders but producers.

What do you all think about Victorino putting on the Orange and Blue?

There have been a lack of updates recently due to Hurricane Sandy. Posts on this website will resume when I get back power back in Newark.

My thoughts go out to everyone impacted by this storm. The damage in Newark has  been incredibly mild compared to other parts of NJ and NY.

If you live in Jersey (or within driving distance) and would like to volunteer, consider Jersey Cares.

More teams are starting to reveal interest for Shohei Otani as MLB Trade Rumors have reported that the Cubs have now have interest. Which brings the list of interested teams to:

• Dodgers
• Rangers
• Red Sox
• Orioles
• Cubs

The Nippon Ham Fighters drafted Otani in the NPB Player draft so they have until the end of March to negotiate a contract with Otani. It will be very tempting for MLB teams to step in before that, especially with Shohei expressing interest to start his career in the States.

MLB was already in hot water with Korean Baseball with the way the Orioles handled the signing of Kim Seong-min. Kim was 17 and the Orioles breached the protocol for signing a player out of high school, thus landing themselves as a ban.

So we reach this point of game theory. For the best interest of baseball, teams will have to try not to sign Otani before the end of March. However, if a team wants the supreme competitive advantage of signing a player that can change the course of a franchise (which is generally the feeling of highly touted prospects, even though it isn’t always the outcome) then a team might not care about messing with international relationships for every MLB franchise.

International Baseball is about to become a big, public game of chicken for the next several months.