Alderson Lang Syne Applesauce: Goodbye And Good Riddance, 2011!

Before I begin with the morning Applesauce, let me just wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year! Hopefully 2012 brings us all much more to be positive about around here and if not, well at least we've got each other, right? Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

Meet the Mets

Supposedly, the Mets may have some interest in infielder Ryan Theriot as a bench player. In comparison to the alternatives (Jack Wilson, for instance), Theriot looks only slightly more palatable. But they seem to already have a better and cheaper choice already on the roster in Justin Turner. So let's just cross our fingers that this rumor doesn't come to fruition.

Anthony DiComo ran down the top ten most pressing questions surrounding the Mets heading into 2012. Here's hoping that the team provides many answers, while realizing they'll likely end up just creating more questions (it's the Mets, after all).

Ted Berg continues his list of the top things of 2011 and number two on the list was the performance of Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran in the month of June. Sigh. That's all I've got to say about that.

In response to John Sickels' Top 20 Prospect List, Toby Hyde gave some of his thoughts.

Around the Majors

Former Met utility man and Orioles' third baseman Melvin Mora announced his retirement on Friday after 13 seasons in the majors. Ah, it seems like just yesterday that the Mets dealt Mora away to the O's for pennies on the dollar Mike Bordick. Matt Klaassen took a look at some Mora memories over at Fangraphs.

Prince Fielder is still on the free agent market heading into January, so Marc Normandin took a look at some other recent big name free agents who inked a contract after the new year. In other signing news, the Blue Jays signed former Mets long man Darren Oliver to a one-year deal, while the Yankees have reportedly re-signed OF Andruw Jones to a one year, $2 million contract.

Joe Sheehan made some predictions for 2012 and, well, let's just hope Bud Selig comes to his senses quickly regarding #5. Also, here's a warning, in case you don't want to see a picture of Jose Reyes in a Marlins uniform (yes, it still stings a bit).

Want to know who the worst defenders since 2002, according to UZR/150, have been? Well, here you go. My goodness, Mike Jacobs was completely worthless.

Finally, Ryan Madson looks to be this offseason's biggest loser. But wait a second...he's got a World Series ring. Isn't that supposed to make him a perpetual winner? I'm confused.