Dark Horse: Carlos Gomez

Once considered a five-tool player and hot prospect for the New York Mets, Carlos Gomez became expendable when the Twins opted to trade Johan Santana. Gomez played two seasons with the Twins, exhibiting flashes of power and defensive excellence, but the emergence of Denard Span found Gomez again on the trading block.  Shortly after the conclusion of the 2009 season Gomez was traded to Milwaukee Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy.  Despite his unbelievable speed and excellent defensive prowess, Gomez' struggles with plate discipline made him difficult to keep in the lineup.

During the 2012 season Norichika Aoki became the Brewers full-time right fielder and Gomez' platoon parter Nyjer Morgan had a steep drop in production.  This set of circumstances finally allowed Gomez a full-time position in center, where he was primed to flourish.  The season ended with Carlos Gomez posting a .260/.305/.463 line with a career high in stolen bases with 37 and home runs with 19, doubling his previous career high.  Carlos Gomez seems to be putting it all together just in time to enter his walk year; and with a locked down full-time position in Milwaukee it will be interesting to see what kind of money he's trying to earn next year.

SIGNED! Shaun Marcum

To the Mets, one year.

The details are not yet finalized, but Shaun Marcum looks all but confirmed to be a New York Met next year pending his physical. Marcum was a quality pitcher for the Brewers the last couple of seasons when he was healthy, posting a 3.70 ERA over 21 starts. Marcum's health has been spotty throughout much of his career, missing chunks of 2012 with an elbow issue and the entire 2009 season after undergoing elbow reconstruction surgery.  Assuming he passes the physical he'll be a very serviceable addition to the Mets rotation which also includes Johan Santana, Jonathon Niese, Matt Harvey and Dillon Gee. As the Mets would have to pull out some pretty miraculous stops to contend in 2013, Marcum also becomes a credible trade chip to a contending club come mid-season.

Offseason Review: New York Mets

New York Mets

It's relatively difficult to assess with any real accuracy how the Mets performed in this offseason because it seems like they still have work to do. The Mets are in an interesting place franchise-wise and kind of remind me of the Nationals a few years ago. Lots of young, developable talent that has yet to prove itself; but no realistic ambition of contending immediately. That being said, there are still a few loose ends in the bullpen and off the bench that need to happen and an major extension for David Wright that needs to prove itself worthwhile.

David Wright
Lovin' the game.

It's almost impossible to disagree with extending a player with franchise status such as David Wright. He's given the Mets an all-star performance in all but one of his eight seasons, as well as two gold gloves, two silver sluggers and a 30-30 performance. Not too shabby. The problem being that he's a little older, has a little bit of a history with injuries and is playing in the difficult-to-inspire role of being the cornerstone in a franchise that isn't poised to be do a whole lot in the immediate future. This hasn't discouraged Wright from expressing a desire to stay with New York for the remainder of his career, and my guess is he'll repay Sandy Alderson for his $140MM investment.

Travis d'Arnaud
Centerpiece in the Dickey trade

It's pretty unlikely for a team in the Mets position to make several major moves in one offseason, but after 38 year old R.A. Dickey's unlikely Cy Young season, that's just what needed to happen. The Mets appeared to be willfully inactive on a ripe market for Dickey through early December until he made his displeasure for that inactivity known. The Mets struck a deal with the hyperactive Blue Jays and shipped Dickey, Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas for fine young catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud as well as Noah Syndergaard, John Buck and Wuilmer Becerra. The bounty hauled in by the Dickey trade is an unexpected and well-played boost for a team in need of rebuilding.

Ike Davis
I haven't mentioned him at all in this post but he looks
a LOT like a young Bruce Springsteen, right?

The Mets aren't going to make the playoffs next year and probably not for a couple years after that. The NL East of today is the AL East of yesterday. Every other team with the exception of the stupid ass Marlins looks like they are at least capable of contending for the next several years, forcing the Mets to be at least marginally docile. With players Frank Francisco as the incumbent closer and Lucas Duda, Collin Cowgill and Kirk Nieuwenhuis heading up the outfield, it's clear that the Metropolitans need some bandage additions to even breach relevancy; but they are proving to be competent in their plans for the future. Expect the Zach Wheeler and Travis d'Arnaud era to be an exciting one in Queens, but until then expect to see a few consecutive second to last seasons for New York. 

Offseason Review: New York Mets

2x Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana returns after an injury plagued 2011 campaign

This has to be the most difficult offseason review to find substance for because the Mets have done very close to nothing. Due to a whole lot of financial turmoil and a suddenly steep level of divisional competition, the Mets activity was essentially rendered paralyzed by practicality.
 

In Memoriam: Gary Carter 04/08/1954-02/16/2012

It's been a busy/exhausting 48 hours for me but I wanted to be able to write something brief about Gary Carter, who lost his battle with brain cancer yesterday at the age of 57. I don't have to recall his hall of fame career, laden with awards and accolades. I also don't have to speak on his personality or deep faith or love of the game. If you want any of those well deserved sentiments, you can find them in seconds online.

I wanted to speak on what the life of Gary Carter, the kid, means to me on a more personal level. It's a general and uncomplicated idea, but it's also rare. Carter took the field to perform for his fans and to exhibit his love of baseball, which was explanation enough for his incredible skill to shine through. It goes without saying that kindness, humility and child like enthusiasm are a rare find on a stage where the incentive to excel is rooted in fame and huge amounts of money. Therein lies my inspiration to write to honor and esteem Gary Carter. Thank you for being "the kid". Thanks for reminding young people that baseball can stay fun even if you do it for a living. Thank you for forging a career that takes the cynicism out of people, like myself. Rest in Peace.