213 Miles From Shea

As of right now, this is all we know for sure:

– Ryan Braun tested positive for a PED (Performance Enhancing Drug) due to elevated levels of testosterone. Through two tests, it was determined that the heightened levels were not natural, that either some form of PED (HGH, steroids, etc) is responsible.

– Braun's camp was informed in late October

– Braun's camp says there are some highly unusual circumstances behind the test, and will appeal.

And as of now, that is all we know.

What I'm not excited about is after a crazy, crazy Winter Meetings where there is so much baseball to discuss (the New Marlins, Angels, Fielder, Darvish) we will now have to focus our attention on the issue of PED's, HGH and steroids again. We all know this is not an issue that the media will not ignore, and it is one that it will definitively overkill with news coverage. Here's why:

– Braun is one of the league's best players and role models

– Braun has been used as an example of a clean player for years

– Braun just won a very contested MVP contest against Matt Kemp

And honestly, it is that last bullet point that I'm not ready for. I'm not ready for the news coverage, the opinions that Kemp should be the MVP. All of the requested and granted interviews with Matt Kemp, trying to squeeze a response out of him. I was so excited to get baseball coverage again, and now its going to be steroids coverage again. Maybe some shots of Rafael Palmeiro waving his finger.

In terms of actual baseball, this could be very bad for the Brewers. The Brewers chances this off-season are hinging on a healthy Braun. If the suspension goes through, then the Brewers will need to resign Fielder in order to stay competitive. If the Cubs can resign Fielder, and now with Pujols out of the division, this could the Cubs' opportunity to make a serious run at the division.

We'll see how the story unfolds. Innocent until proven guilty, right?

Reports that the Dodgers almost acquired Daniel Murphy during the Winter Meetings. A source told MLB.com that they were close to a trade for Murphy, however the trade fell through when the Mets acquired what they needed in a full time position player in another trade. Most people (MLB Trade Rumors, Metsblog, other writers) are taking that to mean Andres Torres.

I really would like to know what the Mets would have gotten in return for Murphy from the Dodgers. I'm assuming they would have received a player similar to Andres Torres, although I don't know who that would be on the Dodgers roster. Out of pure speculation, and nothing more, maybe it was Tony Gwynn Jr. and other players. The other OF's seem to valuable on the Dodgers (also I will admit that I know very little about West Coast teams compared to East Coast teams).

Curiosity aside, if this trade would have happened, and the pieces weren't so good, I would probably be extremely depressed. If you read this blog regularly, you know that I have really enjoy Murphy's style of play and work ethic. My favorite shirt is my green Murphy shirt and when he got injured last year, my ability to watch more than 4 innings of Mets baseball declined sharply.

That being said, I understand that this is a business and if it makes good in 2014, which seems to be the goal, I understand.

The rumors are starting to circulate that the Dodgers are trying again for a deal with Murphy and that the Pirates, Blue Jays and Tigers have all shown interest. It was also reported that the Mets showed interest in the Tiger's Dirks, but since the Mets now have Torres, they probably do not need Dirks, so that trade no longer makes sense (unless if they go after him as at 4th OF, but in that case they will need more than Dirks in return for Murphy).

We'll see what happens….

For me personally, the nail in the coffin for losing a player in free agency, is the press conference where the player holds up the jersey. I can't really remember another time where a player I really liked left New York at an age when I could comprehend the meaning behind it. The only other player that I was very sad to see hold up another jersey would be Mike Piazza, but even then I knew we couldn't resign him. That we needed to break away from our generation's best player (yep! I'm a 90's kid). Anyway, to ease the pain of showing Reyes holding up his new Jersey, I included the other new Marlins doing it as well. This is one of those misery loves company types of things.

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These images bring back feelings of 2005 and 2006 as the Mets revealed Pedro, Beltran, Wagner and Delgado. Now I just know what its like to be a major fan of one of those players from the other side.

With the Winter Meetings over, the Mets still have a few spots to fill. One of the remaining spots they are looking to add to the team is possibly a back up catcher. Thole will be the primary catcher for the season, but a veteran catcher presence will go a long way in 2012 from not only helping with Thole's development, but helping to slow down the yearly degradation every starting catcher goes through during the course of the season.

The most important detail for the Mets is they need to be blown away on a cheap deal for a back up catcher. The Mets have a a couple of options they can go to in the minors, and have been pretty lucky with Catchers they have brought in on minor league deals. This year they need to see if people they sign will be more beneficial than Mike Nickeas, who, although not a good hitter, can call a really good game. There are three possible options out there for the Mets, if they don't go with Nickeas:

Kelly Shoppach – Probably the number 1 remaining back up catcher in terms of pop, would most likely not be going to the Mets. His price is just too high. But if it goes down, then it could happen.

Ramon Castro – He is still available and liked in New York. I just don't see him as a better option than Nickeas.

Jason Varitek – His main attribute is his ability as a leader, and how that could rub off on Thole. If his price is right, I would pick him over Nickeas.

Ivan Pudge Rodriguez – Will be working out in Miami this week and could be had at the right price. This could very possibly be a Free Agent back up catcher move the Mets make.

We'll see what happens! My money is still on Mike Nickeas but if the Mets complete a trade for a starting pitcher, they still could sign a back up catcher.

If the season started today, the Mets lineup, could look something like this (of course with some players switched around):

1. Andres Torres (CF)

2. Daniel Murphy (2B)

3. David Wright (3B)

4. Ike Davis (1B)

5. Jason Bay (LF)

6. Lucas Duda (RF)

7. Josh Thole (C)

8. Ruben Tejada (SS)

9. Pitcher

Obvisously this may not be actually how the lineup is constructed. Ruben may be bumped up to 2nd with Murphy dropping to 5, pushing everyone back or Thole and Tejada may be switched. Whatever, we can discuss that later (this lineup right now is constructed to keep the leadoff hitter in a traditional role, and then for everyone else the best hitters the most amount of AB's)

Even without Jose Reyes, and I know this feels crazy to type, this is still a good lineup. Like really good. If Wright and Davis remain healthy, and Murphy returns to is 2011 form (and Torres his 2010), this could be a really dangerous lineup.

At the same time, this could be a really bad lineup. And that is what the state of the Mets is. They have a lot of players that could be really good. These are names like Murphy, Torres and Duda. And the Mets have players that should be really good, like Jason Bay. If things go right, then this is an excellent team. If things go bad, then this could be a disaster. At the end of the day though, this team was 6th in the National League in runs scored, and while that had a lot to do with Reyes, the Mets still did that with Reyes being injured, with Pagan in a down year, with Bay not himself, with injuries to Wright, with a major injury to Davis and so forth. I still have a lot of confidence in the offense of this team and while it will be hard to be competitive next season, there is no reason yet to completely write off the New York Mets. (That is to say I'm not going to be crazy and say we are contending for the Playoffs, but we still have every chance to be competitive).

With the Winter Meetings wrapping up, what is left for the Mets?

Although the Mets didn't chase after Reyes, they didn't lie down and do nothing this Winter. They brought up their back up plan (or first plan, unclear at this point) which is to 1) have a competitive team in 2012 (basically a team that doesn't give up) and 2) prepare to make a run at strong contention in 2014 when the Mets farm system mature.

In accordance with that plan, they didn't sign any players to long deals (and probably more analysis on that later) and signed bullpen players that fortify the team for next year. They are also pursuing trades for players that will bring back prospects that will mature around the same time as Harvey, Wheeler, etc.

What do the Mets have left to do? Well for next year they either need or still could use:

– One Starter

– Back up Catcher (although they have internal options)

– 4th OF

– 2 or 3 Bench Players

The news out of Mets camp yesterday was that they are also listening to offers for Niese. I don't quite understand this, since he is a proven young pitcher, but if they are blown away from an offer, they would pull the trigger on the deal. The Mets want a starter they can use now, and then two prospects. One of the prospects will probably have to be a highly touted position player to help the pitching heavy 2014 Mets. There was also some news that were shopping Davis, but unless some is going to trade in their entire farm system, I just don't really see that happening (although since there are so few sellers this off-season, someone might trade their farm system for Davis)

(Side Note: Trading for Andres Torres basically puts a “Never Happening” stamp on the Aaron Rowand Plan I was supporting earlier this week)

Basically, for the Mets to accomplish their two goals, and fill their current needs within budget, I do wonder how much they will rely on the Rule V draft today. Last year we got Pedro Beato, so I have high hopes for this year.

Quick! How old is Lastings Milledge?

I had no idea that he is only 26. I thought he was 28 or 29 because it seems like he has been around for a while. Before we get to the news, let's catch you up on the Lasting Milledge saga so far:

– He made his debut at the age of 21 with the New York Mets in 2006

– In November of 2007, he was traded to the Nationals for Church and Schnieder

– In June of 2009, he was traded with Joe Hanrahan to the Pirates for Burnett and Morgan

– In December 2010 he entered Free Agency

– In February of 2011, he was signed by the White Sox. For the White Sox he had 4 AB's and 1 hit.

He reached an agreement with the Tokyo Yakult Swallows (NPL) on a two year deal. It's important to point out that he will only be 28 years old at the end of the contract, and if he does well, he may come back to the majors.

In his Major League career, Milledge had a .269 Average with 33 homers over exactly 1500 AB's.

Very soon after signing Jon Rauch to a one year deal, the Mets completed two additional moves. If you are just waking up and have no idea what happened last night then here's a brief run down:

– Jon Rauch signed to a one-year deal for 3.5 Million

– Frank Francisco signed to a two-year deal for 12 million

– Angel Pagan traded to the Giants for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez

Rauch and Francisco, the two pithcers slotting to round out the bullpen, won't turn any heads in the closer department (especially in a division that has Papelbon, Bell, Kimbrel and Storen) but it is a much better situation then what the Mets currently have. As for the bullpen overall, it is considerably stronger now with these three pitchers than it was before (not saying that it is now strong). As reported last night, Rauch has an ERA of 4.85 with 11 saves for the Jays last year while Francisco has 17 saves with an ERA of 3.55.

I am very intrigued by Ramon Ramirez who had a 3-3 record over 68.2 innings with a 2.62 ERA. His career ERA is 3.16 and in the last four seasons, his ERA has been below 3.00. This seems like a good a addition, especially for the price.

Finally, the Mets acquired Torres, who is coming off of a dreadful 2011 where he batted .221 with only 29 extra base hits. In 2010 he was a .268 hitter with 43 doubles, 8 triples and 16 homers. In 2009 he was a .270 hitter with 6 doubles, 8 triples, 6 homers (400 less AB's then 2010). This trade is of course is to get a change of scenery for both players. It could be a very interesting development throughout this season.

Of course, I'm not getting my hopes up over these three relievers. They would be good final pieces to a puzzle, but the Mets are just not at that stage yet, and probably (almost definitely, barring a miracle season by several players) won't be there this season. The Daily News puts better words to it:

Pending a physical, the Mets have made their first major addition of the off-season by signing reliever Jon Rauch to a one year deal. The story of the Mets bullpen has been a committee situation. The Mets don't have the money, or the desire to sign a closer to a long term deal, which honestly makes sense. Instead of going for a budget closer pitcher, they decided to sign two pitchers to fortify the back end of the bullpen.

Part 1 of that occurred tonight as the Mets signed Jon Rauch, also known as the tallest player in baseball (Fun Fact: The Mets also have the shortest player in baseball). Rumor is right now that the contract is for 3.5 million. Assuming the Mets were going to spend 8-10 million on the pen, that leaves 4.5 to 6.5 left, which does sound just about right.

Rauch has saved games as recently as 2010 and 2011. Last year he saved 11 games for the Blue Jays and 2010 he saved 21 games for the Jays. On average you are looking at a pitcher who has an ERA in the upper 3.00 ERA. He is a contact pitcher, which isn't ideal for a set-up closer role, so I hope he gets paired with a Dotel type of pitcher.

Most recently in 2011 he had an ERA of 4.85 which was inflated by allowing 11 homers. Expect that number to drop because he is no longer in the American League, especially the AL East and he is now pitching in a more pitchers friendly park.

(Of course that previous statement doesn't necessarily hold true if the walls moved in at Citi have a really odd impact and if Pujols signs with the Fish.)

Aaron Rowand was released by the Giants and is looking for a job right now. If he could be signed for a very cheap price, he could provide an interesting solution to our OF problems.

Pagan right now is the question mark in the outfield. A possibly solution, if the market is right, would be to go through the arbitration process with Pagan and trade him for 5 million dollars worth of prospects (assuming that will be the price of Pagan's contract) and then bring in Rowand on a cheap contract.

Roward had one gigantic year in Philly, and several solid ones (similar to his time in Chicago). His hitting fell apart in San Francisco, but at age 33, he could be an interesting piece to bring into Citi. If anything, he is the type of player that Terry Collins likes (putting his body in every play) and he could be a good influence on Duda and Murphy.

Also, in San Francisco, he never really had a lot of line up protection. Even though the Mets lineup is significantly weaker without Reyes, one has to feel that still have Wright, Bay and Murphy provide some protection he didn't have in San Francisco.

One of a few downsides of Rowand over Pagan is Pagan can be a leadoff hitter, something the Mets need now. However if the Mets can get a useful haul for Pagan, and cheap price on Rowand, this could be an intriguing situation.