Jan. 10 -- Is Fernando Martinez keeping Manny Ramirez out of New York?
Well, no, of course not. But a couple of comments on an earlier post were interesting as they pertained to F-Mart and the Mets' corner outfield situation. Here they are, in order, courtesy of "grab22":
and...
I liked the second one best, because I could answer each of its parts succinctly: (1) Yes, it does. (2) Yes, there should. (3) No question. (4) Absolutely.
The Mets' plan to go with a left field platoon of Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis is a flawed on, based on a few good months from each in 2008 and ignorant of the very real questions about what they can expect from their right fielder and, yes, a first baseman they were thinking about releasing as recently as mid-June. I think they need to add a bat. I think they should be pursuing Manny Ramirez, but as we've addressed many times, they won't. So I think they should be after a guy like Dunn or Bobby Abreu.
But...
More than one Mets official I've spoken with since the end of the season has mentioned Fernando Martinez as a potential part of the 2009 puzzle. They don't expect that he'll be ready to be on the team at the start of the season, but there's a belief in the organization that he could be ready at some point in 2009. If that happens, they don't want him blocked. They think he's going to be an impact hitter at the big-league level very early in his career, and they see him as a low-cost offensive solution when he does come.
So it's not that they're holding a spot for him. More like, they're not as worried about their corner outfield offense because they think they might, if things break right and the kid stays healthy, already have the answer in the organization.
Dan, do you think this is the year that Fernando Martinez will finally break out? I fear that if he has another "average" year (.285 7 HR, etc.), that his status as a top prospect will officially start to drop. If he does indeed break out, could he see regular playing time with the Mets?
and...
It seems as if Omar is content with standing pat in regards to the offense based on the success of last year (offensively speaking). But there should be concern about Delgado possibly regressing to his 2007 levels again. If that happens, the offense is in deep trouble. Do you think it's a mistake for Omar not to be pursuing an offensive upgrade for left field such as Adam Dunn?
I liked the second one best, because I could answer each of its parts succinctly: (1) Yes, it does. (2) Yes, there should. (3) No question. (4) Absolutely.
The Mets' plan to go with a left field platoon of Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis is a flawed on, based on a few good months from each in 2008 and ignorant of the very real questions about what they can expect from their right fielder and, yes, a first baseman they were thinking about releasing as recently as mid-June. I think they need to add a bat. I think they should be pursuing Manny Ramirez, but as we've addressed many times, they won't. So I think they should be after a guy like Dunn or Bobby Abreu.
But...
More than one Mets official I've spoken with since the end of the season has mentioned Fernando Martinez as a potential part of the 2009 puzzle. They don't expect that he'll be ready to be on the team at the start of the season, but there's a belief in the organization that he could be ready at some point in 2009. If that happens, they don't want him blocked. They think he's going to be an impact hitter at the big-league level very early in his career, and they see him as a low-cost offensive solution when he does come.
So it's not that they're holding a spot for him. More like, they're not as worried about their corner outfield offense because they think they might, if things break right and the kid stays healthy, already have the answer in the organization.
3 Responses to "Jan. 10 -- Is Fernando Martinez keeping Manny Ramirez out of New York?"
I did see an absolute bomb hit by Fernando Martinez, which Matt Cerrone later posted on his blog, that quite frankly left one dreaming. There is a realistic possibility of F-Mart making it to Shea (yeah, I know; you can call is Ziti if you want!) this summer, and we can only hope that happens as that would mean he has finally emerged.
Like the Redding signing. When Davidoff wrote about him in September he had a 10-8 record with a 4.52 ERA - I know because I found a PDF of the article in a folder on my computer today and finally read it - and clearly finished poorly. But he's a great value who just may prosper with some offense. Plus he's a NYer (State) though regrettably a Yankee fan. Maybe that last is better attributed as "was" a Yankee fan.
Still hoping on Orlando Hudson: hope against hope, I guess...
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