The Mets made a personnel move yesterday, officially releasing Ryota Igarashi. The move was strictly a formality as his contract called for him to be released if the team and player didn't agree on a new deal. I actually liked the thought process behind the deal at the time, I just wish he had been a little more Hisanori and a little less Ken in terms of his production.
The experts in the Adam Rubin lobby don't feel the Mets will be in a position to compete next year with a payroll in the $100-$110 million range. I'm not fully in agreement, but clearly we're going to need above average production from Johan Santana if we want to hang around the pennant race next year. I hate to cross my fingers and hope for a return to good form, but in this case there's probably nothing to be done about it.
Former Mets GM Omar Minaya interviewed yesterday for the vacancy in the Angels front office. Given Minaya's less than stellar track record and his love for former Expos and aging names in his time here I sincerely hope that he lands in LA. Sandy Alderson and company would have a field day with him.
Patrick Flood took a look at Jason Bay and how much Citi Field may have affected his disappearing power. It seems to be more Bay than anything else.
Ron Darling appeared in a new Mastercard commercial during the World Series. Absolutely fantastic Ron.
Joel Sherman takes a look at the Mets upcoming winter. No surprise at all that his article quickly gravitates into a very Jose-centric piece.
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That World Series thing continued yesterday evening, and in typical fashion this year it was another excellent game. Texas pulled off a ninth inning rally to win 2-1 and tie the series at one apiece. Just 24 hours after singing LaRussa's praises the MSM was noting how his decision "backfired". I guess it's not possible to make the right decision and fail to get a result anymore.
Yesterday BtB had an interesting note about Nelson Cruz and his HR/AB percentage. Today they took that a little further. I love graphs...
The Astros potential new owner is trying to get a bit of a discount for moving his team to the AL going forward. Astros fans should be looking at a discount in their ticket prices as well if they are forced to suffer through DH games.
Minor League Ball has its preliminary discussion up for the recently demolished Phillies farm system if you want to follow along. I doubt their prospects will receive the same types of praise as Sickels had for the Braves last week.
The White Sox pitching situation could be interesting to watch this winter. One thing seems pretty certain: Kenny Williams will definitely make some moves.
Finally, Eno takes a look at the corner outfielder market over at FanGraphs. This is an area I'd be very surprised to see the Mets making a move in this offseason, but it's worth checking out anyway.