Stupidity Revisited

Remember when Benny and Baseball Prospectus went head to head over an article chastising Omar for some spot on remarks? I do and I love bringing it up because of how apparently wrong they were. Yes, I'm wrong a lot, but we are not talking about me.

To fill everyone in who doesn't remember this or has never read it, Omar said signing Pedro would help them recruit in the Dominican. BP said BS and Benny said FU. In the end, we know Fernando took less money to be a Met and everyone is happy.

When the Mets convinced Pedro Martinez to sign as a free agent on Dec. 16, 2004, they felt they were doing more than signing an All-Star pitcher. They believed Martinez would give them instant credibility in the talent-rich Dominican Republic, where he is a national hero.

And they have been right. The Mets have about a dozen promising young pitchers from the Dominican in camp, but the biggest bonanza stemming from the Martinez signing thus far clearly is another Martinez -- Fernando, an 18-year-old outfield prospect with distinctive potential.

I have not read one report where someone was not raving about his ability.

"I call it the domino effect," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. "He had a few teams that were very interested in him, but he chose us at least in part because of the influence of Pedro."

Pedro meant so much to this team and you'll be hard pressed to see anyone saying "I told you so" about signing Pedro after the rumors that his arm was barely hanging on. He has been such a boon to this franchise and their return back to respectability. While you certainly cannot say Pedro is the reason the Mets where they are right now, but he is a big reason. As for F-Mart, I don't think we talk about him enough. Last year in his first year of pro ball when most American kids are still in high school, he played in the in high A ball and the Arizona Fall League. He posted a .274/.334/.440 line over all levels with fifty nine runs score, twenty three doubles, four triples, twelve homers, forty six RBIs, and nine steals.

If you extrapolate that into a full season of ball and figure on 146 games, he would have eighty six runs scored, thirty three doubles, six triples, seventeen homers, and sixty seven RBIs. Just staggering. He struck out a lot, didn't walk enough, and struggled against lefties, but he needs something to work on, right? Those are three things to watch closely to gauge whether or not he's ready to keep moving forward. With Gomez and Milledge ahead of him, there should not be a need to rush him and the Mets know what he has to work on and should see progress before moving him along. What really blows my mind is that this kid was not even alive when the Mets last won it all.

* * *

Ricky goes ahead and sets the bar pretty low for Jose.

Baseball's all-time stolen base leader said he believes that, of all the players in the game, the Mets' 23-year-old shortstop has the best shot at breaking his single-season record of 130 stolen bases.

Henderson, who is in camp as a special instructor for the second consecutive spring, set that mark in 1982 while a member of the Oakland Athletics. Reyes led the majors in steals last season with 64 stolen bases -- less than half of Henderson's record-setting total.

"He's the most likely in my eyes," Henderson said. "With his approach and the way he plays the game. He loves the game. He looks like when he's out on the field, he's having fun. There's no pressure on him.

"When you get a player that's having fun playing the game and having success that's the kind of player that can break records.... I give him all the chance (to break the record). When you enjoy the game, you never know. I didn't think I'd ever break the (previous) record.

"Yes, it's twice as much as he has now, but he's just starting. And, if you see him improve every year, if he achieves that, he's got a chance."

That will never happen because he simply won't run enough. On a shitty team that would allow him to run with no big bats behind him, maybe. But not on the Mets. Now eighty steals? I fully expect him to drop eighty steals at least once in the next three years.

Ben Johnson is doing nothing but building up a fan base this spring.

“I’ll put it like this: I do enjoy contact — maybe a little too much,” Johnson said. “I’m not afraid of breaking up double plays. If there’s a bang-bang play at the plate, I don’t mind dropping my shoulder.”

I'm not saying cut Green, but Johnson is earning his place on the team and some serious at-bats during the regular season. Of course the Mets will prefer Newhan's ability to play anywhere especially with Chavez on the team, but I'll agree with DG about carrying one less reliever to get Ben Johnson into fold. Let a few more weeks decide who should get a spot on this team since spring numbers are hard to dissect. Besides, a fifth starter is usually not needed for the first few weeks so they can still carry seven relievers and just one less starter staving off a roster crunch.

Some thoughts from DG...

Nats announcers totally flubbed good content: about the Duaner situation, they totally missed the point, then on the rotation mentioned some prospect named "John Pelfrey."

That's the big advantage of MLV.TV - you get to hear how good the Met announcer are compared to most other teams.

John Pelfrey? JOHN PELFREY! Grame prep folks. Game prep. You have a dream job, put some extra time into it....and yes, it does give you a great perspective on just how good the Mets announcers are.

Can someone email me this BP article?

Marty is smoking some doobies before his mailbags.

When does Aaron Heilman's contract run out and what are the Mets' plans for him? Will they offer him an extension?
-- Chris D., Glen Allen, Va.

Heilman has a one-year contract, and neither he nor I expect the Mets to offer an extension. At this point, I'd expect he'd not accept one unless he was assured a place in the rotation, which hardly is likely.

He has a one year contract so that arbitration was avoided. The Mets and Heilman will go through this for two more years after this season provided he is not traded.