Thoughts on Jeff Wilpon's role in the Santana trade; Santana makes a good first impression to the New York Media; A Look at the Mets' other off-season acquisition, backup OF Angel Pagan.
(FLUSHING) The New York Mets unveiled their latest prize acquisition on Wednesday, introducing two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana at a gala press conference at Shea Stadium's Diamond Club.
Long thought to the third wheel in a two-team pursuit for Santana, the Mets –thanks to the tenacity of the club's GM Omar Minaya – were not only able to convince the Minnesota Twins that their package was competitive, but managed to keep the club's top pitching prospect (Mike Pelfrey) and outfielder (Fernando Martinez) in the process.
However, Minaya spent a lot of the day giving a tremendous amount of credit to Mets' COO Jeff Wilpon for the deal's successful outcome, saying over and over again that Jeff's “creativity and support” made the deal possible.
In years past, these comments would have made some of my colleagues snicker. Nobody was laughing on Wednesday. Fact of the matter is, people can write about how “mature” Jeff Wilpon is these days, and that he's “learned” how to adjust his personality to the front office dynamic.
Hogwash.
The Jeff Wilpon I cover now is the same Jeff Wilpon I've covered since 2001; an intelligent, baseball-savvy guy who wants to win a World Series as badly as any of you, Mets fans. Yet, Jeff Wilpon has been a character that sportswriters and fans alike have chosen to mock and vilify over the last several years.
The role of “Rich Kid With No Brains” has been thrust on Jeff Wilpon unfairly, and usually by people who have an ax to grind. That is enough for any columnist who has a natural aversion to the wealthy (except, of course when it applies to anyone in their own brethren) to pounce when any Wilpon has made a bad decision or a bad hire. From questioning whether the COO of the team has the right to sit in on baseball operations meetings, or labeling him with the moniker “Paris Wilpon”, the media has enabled the lowest common denominator of the Mets' fan base to express itself in far more inappropriate ways.
Yes, I have criticized ownership for bad hires and a lack of connection to the fans in the past, including the naming, design and Dodger-centric treatment of the new stadium. These opinions and subsequent articles have not made me the most popular fellow, but I've also maintained that you'd be hard pressed to find a better group of folks in any ownership group. Furthermore, in the seven years that I have covered the New York Mets, I have never met the Jeff Wilpon who is portrayed in the media.
Instead, I have met a man who built KeySpan Park, who can sit and chat about a prospect's breaking ball, and who has never turned down an interview. It's about time that he's getting some credit for the good stuff that is happening around the Mets these days, because he's been blamed for a hell of a lot more bad things that he had nothing to do with.
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Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of Wednesday's presser was Santana, who never went the route of “this is a dream come true”, or “the Mets were my favorite team growing up”. Instead, he simply smiled and said all of the right things.
When asked about the expectations that New York fans have and the ramifications of owning the most expensive contract ever given to a Mets player, the left-hander didn't try to minimize anything either.
"Pressure is part of the game," Santana said. "And all this, what we're doing right now, is fine. You talk, but the reality is once you're out there, it's up to you. It's not what people say. It's what you're capable of doing when you're on the mound. I know exactly what it takes for me to do my job and I'm always willing to do whatever it takes."
If first impressions count for anything (Remember, Randy Johnson knocked down a cameraman and Bobby Bonilla dared us to knock the smile off his face), the Mets' new southpaw should continue his superb career in blue and orange. Oh, and black.
Ironic that he put on the blue cap and the pinstripes at the press conference. What's the over/under on how many times he actually wears that uniform combination as a Met?
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Understandingly lost in the fervor of adding Santana, was the January deal that brought former Brooklyn Cyclone Angel Pagan back to his first organization.
Thought he is a natural right-handed hitter (he switch-hits these days) and an excellent defender that can play all three outfield positions, his name is not being mentioned as a serious candidate for the last OF spot. That's not entirely shocking, as the only front office executive with any concept of Pagan's ability is Mets' COO Jeff Wilpon, who watched him progress through the Mets system from 2000.
If memory serves. on the baseball operations side, only Mets' bullpen coach Guy Conti (who was the club's Minor League Coordinator in those days) and current Cyclones' skipper Edgar Alfonzo, have any kind of vested interest in his playing his first game as a Met.
However, fans of the 2001 Brooklyn team that wowed Gotham in it's first ever season will remember a player whose clutch play and overall entertaining performance fr the Cyclones that year are rooting for him, hard.
Though I strive for objectivity as a journalist, I am also rooting hard for Pagan to make it as a major league player. Having covered that Cyclones team for nearly every game that season, I found Pagan to be a guy that had “big league” written all over him.
The following is an excerpt from a column written about Pagan and his teammates written during the summer of 2001.
Great baseball teams, as the saying goes, are “built up the middle”. So far this season, the NY-Penn League’s top team is proving it, with star center fielder Angel Pagan leading the charge. It’s a philosophy that has been embraced by both managers and organizations alike for years. Brooklyn Cyclones' manager Edgar Alfonzo is no different, being a proponent of that mindset in his short time in his stints a minor league skipper. “To be successful in this game, you have to be strong up the middle.” Alfonzo said back in spring training. “If you have those players (there), you can win a lot of games.” The first-year Cyclones skipper’s goal before breaking camp was to attempt to find a center fielder, shortstop and catcher that would be able to play everyday, thus becoming the core of the team. Robert “Mac” MacIntrye is the team’s shortstop, and despite struggling with the bat, is a solid defensive player and daring baserunner. “The great thing about Mac is he doesn’t let his struggles at the plate hurt him in the field,” Alfonzo said of his shortstop, who is tied for the team lead in RBIs with 16. “He’s struggling now, but he’s a real good player, he’ll be fine.” Behind the plate, catcher Mike Jacobs played so well over the first several weeks, he was promoted to Single-A Capital City, the first Cyclone to be so rewarded. His replacement, Brett Kay has picked up where Jacobs left off, hitting .359 with three homers and 11 RBIs. But the emergence of Pagan has been a major factor in the team’s great season to date. Pagan began the year at Single-A Capital City, serving as the Bombers’ part-time center fielder from May 29-June 21. He was hitting .298 (17-for-57) in 15 games before he joined the “Clones on Opening Day. For any other player, a demotion from full-season, Single-A baseball to the short-season NY-Penn league would be depressing. But Alfonzo saw what he liked from the 20-year old from Puerto Rico, and clearly felt his first-year Cyclones would benefit from his leadership. “Angel plays a great center field, he’s really great out there,” Alfonzo said. “But where he really helps us is at the No. 1 spot in the order.” Pagan has a plan every time he gets to the plate; be aggressive early in the count, then adjust, and try to put the ball in play. “I can beat out ground balls, and I can hit line drives,” Pagan said. “It doesn’t matter how I do it, my job is to get on base. I can tell you this, if I hit a fly ball, the boss gets mad.” Pagan has yet to hit for power in his short career, but it is something he isn’t worried about right now. “I haven’t hit any home runs yet, but I don’t care,” Pagan said. “It’s something I don’t think about.” For a young player, Pagan shows good patience at the plate, striking out just 10 times in 100 at-bats coming into Sunday’s game. Pagan also possesses tremendous speed, a strong arm and a disciplined bat. But it is his prowess in the field is the superlative part of his game. Pagan, like Jay Payton of the parent club, plays an extremely shallow center field. Also like Payton, Pagan gets an uncanny jump on balls over his head. Regardless of the tricky winds coming off the Coney Island surf and a very spacious center field (412-feet from home plate, the largest in the league) Pagan regularly takes away extra-base hits from the opposition. “I have always played shallow, it’s the way I play,” said Pagan, who had a career-high four-hits in Saturday’s 6-3 win over Auburn. “I feel I can get to any ball that’s hit out there.” In addition to his talents, which have already made the young man a fan favorite of the KeySpan faithful, his marquee-good looks and easy-going personality make him stand out even more. Pagan is very excited about the off-season, when he will get the opportunity to play winter ball in the Puerto Rican League, not only with mom Gloria Figueroa’s cooking every night, but a chance to play with his idol, Jose Cruz Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays. Both will play for the Mayagüez Indios, a team managed by Cruz’ dad, Jose S., a former Houston Astro Jose Cruz, Sr., which Pagan thinks can really help his development. “By working out with those two guys,” Pagan said. “I think a lot of special things in my life are going to happen.” Well, he's made it to the big leagues. For any of us that are rooting for him to stick, let's hope he stays here.
Thoughts on Jeff Wilpon's role in the Santana trade; Santana makes a good first impression to the New York Media; A Look at the Mets' other off-season acquisition, backup OF Angel Pagan.
However, Minaya spent a lot of the day giving a tremendous amount of credit to Mets' COO Jeff Wilpon for the deal's successful outcome, saying over and over again that Jeff's “creativity and support” made the deal possible.
all three outfield positions, his name is not being mentioned as a serious candidate for the last OF spot. That's not entirely shocking, as the only front office executive with any concept of Pagan's ability is Mets' COO Jeff Wilpon, who watched him progress through the Mets system from 2000.