Fernando-Mania

For those of you who missed the pre-game on channel 11 or was not able to check it out, they had a quick piece on Fernando Martinez. The one thing that stood out was that it was said that the Mets did not offer the most money, but Martinez chose them anyway because he felt like it was a family-type atmosphere in terms of cohesiveness between everyone. It was also said that Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran were two of his favorite players and the chance to play in their organization and possibly play along side them factored heavily into his decision.

I guess Omar knew a thing or two about what he was doing and his assumptions about the ripple effect of signing Pedro Martinez.

From the Daily News:

Fernando Martinez, the 16-year-old Dominican outfielder handed a $1.4 million signing bonus by the Mets, drew a crowd as he took batting practice yesterday at Shea. The onlookers included Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya, Willie Randolph, Jose Reyes and David Wright.
"I like the way he attacks the ball," Randolph said after two shots cleared the outfield wall during Martinez's first round. Still, the manager cautioned: "He's a baby. Really, he's an infant."

Martinez is scheduled to play in the instructional league in Port St. Lucie in September, then in the minors next year. Minaya said Martinez's skills and projected timetable to reach the big leagues are comparable to any high school player drafted in last month's first round. The GM noted that he signed Ivan Rodriguez at 15 and Juan Gonzalez at 16. Both players' major-league debuts came at age 19.

From the NYPost:

"Of the high school kids that were drafted number one this year," Minaya said, "all those kids, he's right in the mix with those guys."

* * *

Jerry Crasnick had a chat yesterday, and here are the highlights.

Kyle pointed this one yesterday in the comments section:

Jose (NY, NY): What's the likelihood that the Yankees will be able to acquire Santana(Minn.), Zito or Carpenter (St. Louis) before the deadline?

Jerry Crasnick: Jose,

Is zero, zero and zero percent a decent answer?

You have to love Yankee fans. Did he really ask about three teams that are in the playoff hunt, or in the Cardinals case, in the driver's seat, about trading their ace to the Yankees? Why must Yankee fans think everyone is there to farm their good players to help them win?

joe (maryland): Hi Jerry, do you see Eric Milton being a good pitcher for the Mets? they play in a pitchers park and in a division where most of the parks aren’t homerun parks which seems to be Milton’s problem.

Jerry Crasnick: Joe,

Let's put it this way -- there aren't many parks that would be a worse fit for Milton than Cincinnati's. Shea is a good park for a fly ball pitcher. But the Mets had their chance at Milton over the winter, and they passed.

Ah, if only the Mets needed starting pitching. Hey, but if they want to throw in Dunn, I'll eat that contract in a heartbeat.

Aaron (albany, ny): What's your take on Jose Reyes? He's becoming a whipping boy for statheads. Is he going through growing pains or he just another Christian Guzman/Neifi Perez mediocrity?

Jerry Crasnick: Aaron,

I think Jose Reyes is going to be a heck of a lot better than Christian Guzman and Neifi Perez. Of course, you'd like him to have a higher OBP. But he's young, he's got a ton of talent and even more energy. I'm going to cut a kid a lot of slack when he's 22 and playing SS every day in New York (although there's no way in the world he should be batting leadoff).

Guzman? Please. Reyes has some growing to do, but it is worth noting that Christian Guzman has the lowest VORP out of every player in the Majors. He checks in at 842 out of 842 and he has a -17.2 VORP and has a comfortable lead over Miguel Olivo, who has -11.6 VORP. Neifi Perez has a 5.6 VORP and Jose Reyes has a 13.8 VORP and is well above their skill level at the ripe age of 22 and will get much, much better than they ever dreamed of being.

adam (hartford): Has aTony Womack for Corey Patterson deal been explored at all? Their respective teams are sick of them and a change of address could be good for both of them....

Jerry Crasnick: Adam,

I would run that past Cubs GM Jim Hendry, but he'd either bust out laughing or hang up on me in anger, so I think I'll pass.

Again, you just have to laugh. Tony Womack, a 35 year old useless player, for a five tool talent still in his mid 20's that could turn it around and break out. You cannot make this stuff up.

John (NY): Are the Mets going after Sweeney? and who would they give up Heilman?

Jerry Crasnick: John,

Sweeney isn't a fit with the Mets. He's strictly an AL player, and he'll make $12.5 million each of the next two years (I think) if he's dealt. That's too much money for him.

If he was not so injury prone, I'd take a look at him and his iron mit, but alas, he cannot stay on the field.

Franco (Hoboken): Jerry, Is there anyway the Mets could pry Adrian Gonzalez away from Texas? Say dealing them Heilman and Diaz??

Jerry Crasnick: Franco,

The Rangers seem reluctant to trade Adrian Gonzalez, even though he's blocked by Teixeira and growing frustrated in their system. Given that Texas needs pitching and Diaz is an AL type player, I think that proposed deal makes some sense. Send Omar and John Hart an email.

What's that? A trade in which their team gives up too much? I think the Mets give up too much here, but it is certainly a foundation for a deal. Substitute Seo in for Hielman and give the Mets a power arm that is not quite refined and you have yourself a deal.

I hope no one is still upset about the Jason Phillips trade. Despite his two hits yesterday, he is one of the worst every day catchers in the Major Leagues. He is nothing but a reserve catcher at best.

Minor update:

• Norfolk beat Richmond 6-1. Anderson Hernandez went 0 for 5 and Victor Diaz and Eric Valent went 1 for 4. AAA All-Star Jason Scobie went seven innings and gave up six hits, one earned run, three walks, and struck out four.
  
• Binghamton beat Bowie 4-2 and two the Mets brighest stars in the Minor Leagues were a big factor. Yusmeiro Petit was vintage and went nine innings, giving up five hits, two earned runs, no walks, and struck out seven. Lastings Milledge went 2 for 4 with two stolen bases, a double, a run scored, and two RBIs. Mike Jacobs went 2 for 4 with a triple and an RBI.
  
• Vero Beach beat St. Lucie 2-1. Grant Psomas went 0 for 2 with a walk and is 1 for 6 since being called up from Hagerstown.
  
• Lake County beat Hagerstown 6-5 in fourteen innings. Ambiorix Concepcion went 3 for 6 with three runs scored and a homer, Mike Carp went 3 for 6 with an RBI, and Carlos Gomez went 2 for 7 with a run scored.
  
• Brooklyn beat Jamestown 11-1. Nick Evans is finally hitting his stride after struggling since being promoted and went 3 for 5 with two homers and six RBIs. Caleb Stewart went 2 for 5 with a run scored. Andrew Butera is living up to his billing as a no bat catcher and is batting .093 with four hits in forty-three at-bats.
  
• Johnson City beat Kingsport 9-3.
  
• The GCL Dodgers beat the GCL Mets 7-3. Greg Cain went 1 for 3 with a walk.

According to the Boston Herald, the O's are close to obtaining AJ Burnett.

According to sources, the Orioles, Florida Marlins and Tampa Bay Devil Rays are on the verge of consummating a deal that would bring Burnett to Baltimore along with infielder Mike Lowell and minor league outfielder Eric Reed. In return, the Marlins were to receive outfielder Larry Bigbie, starter Hayden Penn and relievers Jorge Julio and Steve Kline.

The deal would also have Sidney Ponson being moved to clear payroll and a deal has been made and is awaiting approval by Phil Nevin that would swap to the two.

According to the Daily News, the Mets are considering a push for Odalis Perez.

Kaz Matsui could start a rehab assignment in St. Lucie late next week.

John Harper echoed Joel Sherman's sentiments of yesterday that Victor Zambrano is a good trading chip.

According to the Star Tribune, the Reds have no interest in trading Adam Dunn or Austin Kearns and apparently no interest in improving their team.

Victor Zambrano had nothing yesterday, which is fine. That happens sometimes, but your manager needs to take notice. After already being down 3-0, Zambrano let up a double to Jeff Kent with one out. At that point, I was yelling at my car radio to get the bullpen up, but Willie did not get anyone up. He should have sent Rick Peterson to the mound and called Heath Bell to get up and stalled as much as possibly and got him in as soon as possible. That didn't happen, and one out and two hits later, the Mets were down 5-0 and were down 6-0 on Werth's single off Bell when he finally came in. I got the feeling that Willie had already conceded the game and was trying to get six innings out of Zambrano to save the pen. If he was throwing well, just not having any luck, I can see him being kept in. However, he could not throw it by anyone and should have been on a much shorter leash. It was blatant to me, but Randolph seemed to not play for a win when his team was in the midst of a winning streak, but more playing to save the pen. Sure enough, that was a huge run or two. The Mets made a bunch of errors, but that is more excusable though a problem that is killing them. Those things will happen, but Willie's lack of strategy there is inexcusable and needs to stop.