New York Mets: The Wright Way

[YEAH DAAAAWG]

Vegas or Brooklyn.

[Coach Owens]

Vancouver!!1

[Gehrig493]

Everyone has been wrong so far.

[Gehrig493]

November 6th, 2004 Signings
Breaking News: Pursuit of 600 to Resume in Desert
Sammy Sosa signed a contract with the Diamondbacks, assuring he will be a Snake for 3 years. Sosa will get paid 17.4M.
Sosa is 22 home runs short of the illustrious 600-homer club. He will join Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, and Hank Aaron in the club
AL Batting Champ in Pinstripes
Frank Catalanotto signed a 4 year contract, worth 26.8M. Catalanotto hit .337 last season, leading his league, and falling second in the majors to Triple Crown Winner – Albert Pujols, will join a Yankee team that won 98 last year, possibly pushing it to triple digits this season.
Joining “The Cat” will be arguably the two best free agent relievers that were on the market: lefty Aaron Fultz, and submariner Chad Bradford. Overall, they signed 12 free agents today, spending a total of 101.5M on player contract.
Jeff Bagwell Bleeds Blue?
Jeff Bagwell signed a 3 year with the LA Dodgers, hopefully to semi-revive his career. Bagwell hit a career los for batting average last season (.246), dropping his career average under .300. Bagwell is 49 home runs away from 500, and assuming he fills out his 3 year contract, worth 14.7M, he will get #500 as a member of the Dodgers, and not the Astros.

Mets Ink World Champion First Baseman
11.8.04
The Mets appeared to have solved there problem at first today. The Mets signed World Champion first baseman Nick Johnson, who hit .269, with 21 home runs, and 77 RBI, and 77 runs with the Expos last season.

Former Met Signs with Bo-Sox
11.10.04
Former Met reserve outfielder DeWayne Wise inked a two year deal, worth a little over a million dollars tonight. Wise will add depth to a Boston team that won an ML-leading 107 games.

Mets Add Depth to Catcher Position
11.16.04
After a week-long negotiation (literally, since signing Johnson), the Mets, and former Marlin catcher Mike Redmond agreed on terms to a 2 year, 2 million dollar deal. Redmond, who hit over .300 in 154 at-bats, will be relieving Corky Miller of his back up duties.

Lugo Joins Bags in LA
11.16.04
After about 4 days of negotiations, the Dodgers, and Lugo were finally able to come to terms on Tuesday with Lugo signing his name on a 3 year, 16.2M contract.

Mets Add Starter
11.21.04
The Mets added SP. Adam Eaton today. Eaton was garnering little interest from other teams, likely due to that injury he sustained early last season, keeping him out for all but a month of the ’04 campaign. The Mets signed him to a 2 year, 7.8M contract with 100K incentives for both season if he pitches at least 200 innings.

Mets Add More Depth
11.25.04
In a slow free agency, the Mets just continue to add depth to their offense, today signing outfielder Dave Roberts. Roberts is a great base runner, and one of the better outfielders. Roberts agreed to a deal that will pay him 6M over the next 3 years.

Mets Add a Spot Starter
11.30.04
Chris Carpenter joined the Mets rotation today, as the 29 year old Carpenter signed with the Mets for 8.25M over 3 years.

Mets Add Meche
12.16.04
With the Winter Meetings starting tomorrow, and continuing on until Sunday night, the Mets made what appeared will be there last move for the rest of the free agency. The Mets signed more Mariner pitcher Gil Meche to a 2 year, 3.6M deal.
With the Mets roster panned out, looked for them to be searching for an ace, shopping Carlos Guillen, and there round 2 pick from last season’s Amateur Draft, starting pitcher Dave Eulmessekian as the main trade bait.

[Gehrig493]

RULE 5 DRAFT
I will be doing the rule 5 draft. The way I am going to be doing this is have a 2 round draft in which only I will pick 2 players for the simple fact that I can't be all 30 teams, and make sure the player stays on there 25-man roster.
The way I am doing this, is I am copying all players to an excel sheet, then I am going to be removing all players that are the 25-man roster, then the 15 players with the highest peak from each organization. One that is done, I will remove players until I get to my pick, then I will draft, and repeat the process. I will then give 50K to the team(s) that I took [a] player(s) from. That player must be on my 25-man roster for the remainder of the year, and should he get injured, he is required 90 days of being on the 25-man roster before I can option him down.
R1P4: SP. Noah Lowry (74/84) (From AA SFG)
R2P4: WAIVE

[Gehrig493]

Winter Meetings Begin; Giants Get Lowry Back
12.16.04
After the Mets snagged 24-year old Noah Lowry with the fourth pick in the Rule 5 Draft last night, the Giants knew that Lowry could factor into there pitching plans, and decided to offer a younger, more raw starting pitcher, in Tim Lincecum (69/80), in order to get Noah Lowry (74/84) back. Lowry is 4 years older, and could be in the rotation full time sometime soon this year.
Minaya was reached for comment at the Ritz-Carlton in LA, home of the 2004 Winter Meetings, regarding the deal. "Well, simply put, we like our pitching this year, and don't really want to mess it up by taking a chance, and putting Lowry in the rotation for the whole season. Instead, the Giants told us there plans for Lowry, so they offered up Tim, and I bit. That simple."

Mets Leave With Ace, Catching Prospect
The Mets left the Winter Meetings feeling good. They covered the need they originally set out at the beginning of the offseason, then fulfilled another need by adding the future catcher to the team.
Mets Get: SP. Danny Haren (90/91), C. Yadier Molina (73/90)
Cardinals Get: 2B. Carlos Guillen (87), 1B. Jason Phillips (74), C. Corky Miller (72/77), RP. Philip Humber (67/84), and there second, and third round pick from last season's draft, SP. Dave Eulmessekian (56/90), and RF. Nick Micks (53/94)

[Gehrig493]

Off-Season Check List

[+] 1. Upgrade at Back-Up Catcher
[+] 2. Get a Starting 1B
[+] 3. Get a Utility Defender/Outfielder
[+] 4. Get a Good Starter
[+] 5. Upgrade at Spot Starter



~



Targets
Offense
[+]1B. Nick Johnson (83) (4 Years, 18M)
The 26-year old starting first baseman for the World Series Champion Expos is asking for a 3 year deal, worth between 13M, and 13.5M. Nick hit 21 home runs, driving home 77 with his .269 batting average.

[+]C. Mike Redmond (78) (2 Years, 2.0M)
The 33-year old veteran hit .305 last season, and drove in 17 for the Marlins in 101 games last season. He didn’t hit a single home run in his 154 at bats, but he also rarely struck out, doing so 19 times. Redmond is reportedly requesting 3M over 3 years.

[+] RF. Gabe Kapler (76) (2 Years, 1.8M)
Kapler didn’t play much last season for the AL Champs. In his 20 games he saw time in, he hit .329, bringing home 14, and knocking one over the fence. Kapler is an above average fielder with a good arm, and very good range. Kapler is seeking a 4 year deal, worth about 6.5M.

Defense
[+]RP. Billy Koch (84) (3 Years, 9.0M)
Koch was decent for Florida last season. Despite blowing 8 saves, he wound up with 29 of them. He had an ERA of 3.75, and struck out 58 in 62.1 innings.

[x]SP. Jorge Sosa (82/87) (Refuses to negotiate with Mets)
Sosa is a 27 year old stud pitcher who threw for Tampa Bay last season. Sosa appeared in 37 games, starting all but 10 of them. He went 11-9, fanning 133, and posting an ERA of 3.54 in just over 200 innings. He is reportedly seeking a two year contract, worth about 10M.

[+]SP. Adam Eaton (81/84) (2 Years, 7.8M)
Adam got injured last season after just a month pitching. Before the 26-year old broke a vertebra in his back, he posted an ERA of 4.10, posting a nice 4-1 record in one month. He is requesting 8.5M for 2 years.

[x]RP. Aaron Fultz (81/82) – (Signed w/ NYY)
The 31-year old lefty pitched spectacular last season for the Twins. Fultz struck out 69, and threw his way to a(n) 3.08 ERA in 85 innings. He also picked up 14 holds. Fultz is looking for a 2-year deal, worth approximately 6.5M.

[x]RP. Chad Bradford (80/81) (Signed w/ NYY)
The 30-year old submarine pitched dominated opposing hitters on his way to an ERA of two and a quarter in 66 games (84 innings). He is looking to ink a 3 year, 10.5M contract.

[+] SP. Chris Carpenter (78) (3 Years, 8.25M)
Carpenter went 15-9 through 185 innings, striking out 146. The 29-year old is looking for a 3-year, 9.5M deal.

[+] SP. Gil Meche (74) (2 Years, 3.6M)
Meche is a free agent at the young age of 26. It is obvious why; he is inconsistent when it comes to throwing strikes. Regardless, he posted a 9-10 record, striking out 109 over 132 innings with his devastating knuckle-curve. He had a 5.05 ERA last season for Seattle.



~



Departures
RP. Dan Wheeler (80/86) (Free Agency – Signed w/ Baltimore)
RP. Mike Stanton (78) (FA)
RF. DeWayne Wise (72/75) (FA – Signed w/ Boston)
SP. Noah Lowry (Trade w/ San Francisco)
2B. Carlos Guillen (87) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
1B. Jason Phillips (74) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
C. Corky Miller (72/77) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
RP. Philip Humber (67/84) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
SP. Dave Eulmessekian (56/90) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
RF. Nick Micks (53/94) (Trade w/ St. Louis)


~



Joining
RP. Billy Koch (84) (Free Agency)
1B. Nick Johnson (84) (Free Agency)
C. Mike Redmond (77) (Free Agency)
SP. Adam Eaton (81) (Free Agency)
CF. Dave Roberts (78) (Free Agency)
SP. Chris Carpenter (78) (Free Agency)
SP. Gil Meche (74) (Free Agency)
SP. Noah Lowry (Rule V Draft Choice)
SP. Tim Lincecum (Trade w/ San Francisco)
SP. Danny Haren (90/91) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
C. Yadier Molina (73/90) (Trade w/ St. Louis)
RP. Chris Hammond (74) (Free Agency)
RP. Salomon Torres (71) (Free Agency)
RP. Jamie Cerda (79/83) (Free Agency)
3B. Geoff Blum (76) (Free Agency)
RF. Gabe Kapler (76) (Free Agency)

[Gehrig493]

Alrighty, got them in the right place now. Good for me. :/

[Gehrig493]

AL MVP: Manny Ramirez – Boston Red Sox (.318, 45, 125)
AL CY: Pedro Martinez – Boston Red Sox (19-6, 2.95, 230)
AL ROY: Bobby Crosby – Oakland Athletics (.229, 9, 46)
AL Gold Gloves
P. Brad Radke (MIN)
C. Gerald Laird (TEX)
1B. Mart Teixeira (TEX)
2B. Brian Roberts (BOS)
3B. Eric Chavez (OAK)
SS. Julio Lugo (TBD)
OF. Ichiro (SEA)
OF. Kevin Mench (TEX)
OF. Mark Kotsay (OAK)

NL MVP: Albert Pujols (.354, 55, 181) TRIPLE CROWN
NL CY: Matt Clement (19-8, 2.83, 212)
NL ROY: David Wright (.281, 17, 77)
NL Gold Gloves
P. Aaron Heilman (NYM)
C. B. Schneider (MON)
1B. Sean Casey (CIN)
2B. Placido Polanco (PHI)
3B. Pedro Feliz (SFG)
SS. Rafael Furcal (ATL)
OF. Scott Podsednik (MON)
OF. Richard Hidalgo (NYM)
OF. Vernon Wells (SDP)

All-Star Game MVP: Chipper Jones (NL)
World Series MVP: Tomokazu Ohka (MON)

Bomber, you got MVP, and CY right, so send me details for your player!

[Gehrig493]

I got some new rules to keep my ass in check! See page 1, post 1 for details. Let me know if I am missing anything!

[Gehrig493]

Koch Wins Battle for Closer’s Role.
4.1.05
After a month of Baseball in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the Mets now know who will be there closer entering the season.
The projected closer was last year’s set up man Heath Bell. Bell had an ERA of 1.88 in over 85 innings, making him arguably the best set up man in the league. Then last year’s closer, Danny Kolb was thought to come in second, mainly due to his 8 blown saves, and an inability to get strikeouts, he did wind up coming in second, but will be a short reliever this season.
Heath Bell appeared in 8 games (15 innings), gave up 9 runs, and blew 2 of his 5 saves. Kolb appeared in 10 games, saved 3 out of 4, and had an ERA of 2.87. The winner of the battle, former Marlin closer, Billy Koch, appeared in 10 games, saving 6 out of 6, striking out 11 in 19 innings, and posting a very nice ERA of 2.37.

[Gehrig493]

By the way guys, I spoke last night of the Montreal Expos moving, and if you could guess, then you'd get a player. However, no one guessed it right.
The clue was to look up your history, or something like that.

Anyways, the Montreal Expos are now the.....











































SANTURCE CITY EXPOS!

Now, Santurce is in Puerto Rico, were the Expos played like 20 of there homes games in 2004, which as we know was there last season.
The Expos will be moving into Hiram Bithhorm Stadium. If you want to know more info on the stadium that seats 19,000 fans, then look it up on wikipedia.
One last thing. Not sure if Santurce can be called a city, never heard of it, just now it is Puerto Rico, and 'Santurce City Expos' sounds a hell of a lot better than 'Santurce Expos'.

[Gehrig493]

Season Preview
Lineup


Rotation


Contract Years
Contract Years:
C. Mike Piazza (93)
LF. Gary Sheffield (85)
RF. Richard Hidalgo (88)
1B. Doug Mientkiewicz (78)
SP. Tom Glavine (84)
SP. Steve Trachsel (77)

Regarding the contract situation, we have few free agents, which is great news. Mr. Met, Mike Piazza will be resigned ASAP. I'd like to sign Sheff back, but with him making 10.6M, his asking price may be high, so look for him to possible be dealt. Next is the guy who I didn't even want on the team at the beginning of this, but after his very productive year last year, I may try to extend him after Piazza. Doug may come back, maybe not, idk yet.
Glavine, and Trachsel will likely be gone by the end of the season, if not midway through it.

[PotatoOfCouch13]

Anyways, the Montreal Expos are now the.....

[dramatic pause]

SANTURCE CITY EXPOS!

Why not San Juan Expos? Santurce is just a district of the city, and I think San Juan sounds waaaaay better.

[Gehrig493]

I had San Juan at first, but I thought Santurce City sounded better. And I would've had to make San Juan, and I was feeling lazy last night.
I may just copy Santurce, and add population, idk.

Month one will be done tomorrow. Too tired tonight.