Mets GM Sandy Alderson underwent surgery last week as part of his ongoing battle with cancer and described the operation as “fantastically successful,” as Danny Knobler writes for MLB.com. “From where we were to where we are today, I’m still on a road to full recovery,” said Alderson. “I’m not running a four-minute mile at the moment, and my mouth is still dry from time to time, but that’s what happens when you have surgery.” Alderson added that he expects to be at Citi Field for at least part of nearly every day, and he’s been in close contact with other members of the Mets’ baseball ops staff when he’s been forced to be away. Alderson has also undergone chemotherapy as part of his treatment but said the doctors, at present, do not have any additional chemo or surgery planned. We at MLBTR wish Alderson continued health and success in his fight against cancer.
More from the NL East…
- Both Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com and Mark Bowman of MLB.com wrote forward-looking pieces pertaining to the Braves and potential long-term successors for Fredi Gonzalez following the skipper’s dismissal this week. Crasnick lists former Braves infielder Mark DeRosa, currently an MLB Network analyst, as a possibility, noting that a pair of execs with different clubs each mentioned him. Internal candidates include Bo Porter, Eddie Perez and Terry Pendelton, he adds. Furthermore, Crasnick hears that Chipper Jones isn’t interested in managing the Braves in 2017 but is thought to be a big fan of DeRosa. Bowman also mentions DeRosa as a candidate and also casts some doubt on early speculation that former Padres manager Bud Black could be a candidate, writing that the Braves “have never provided any indication that he is currently viewed as a potential candidate.” Bowman notes that interim manager Brian Snitker’s decision to make Pendleton his bench coach positions him to show the front office how he can handle an increased role in the dugout as well.
- While there was quite a bit of chatter regarding Yoenis Cespedes and the Nationals this offseason, Cespedes said earlier this week that such talk was overblown, writes ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin. “I was never close to signing with the Nationals,” said the outfielder (via interpreter). “From the start I was pushing my agent because I wanted to come back to the Mets.” The Nats reportedly made Cespedes a five-year offer that topped $100MM but also came with heavy deferrals prior to his re-signing with the Mets on a three-year, $75MM deal (with an opt-out clause after the 2016 season).
- Phillies GM Matt Klentak tells Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com that if the Phillies can continue their surprising start and remain in the playoff picture, he’ll certainly be willing to seek upgrades on the summer trade market. “There will be nobody happier than me if we are still in playoff contention in July, and if that happens we’re going to do everything we can to help this team improve and get better and make a run at it,” said Klentak. The GM did preach some caution, noting that only one quarter of the season has been played, and he also explained that he’s been hesitant to go through too much early turnover, hoping instead to allow the players on the roster to settle into roles with which they feel comfortable. The Phillies did make a minor move, promoting Tommy Joseph in an effort to increase the club’s offensive output, but Klentak also acknowledged what has helped his team to its current place in the standings: “We continue to be open-minded towards any types of additions and ways to improve, but right now the success of our team has been built on pitching and defense and we’re going to continue to respect that.”
NL_East_Rivalry
Klentak has the right approach. Even if a wildcard is reasonably in reach they should go for it. Even a few upgrades will look like they are trying and get more tickets for this year and next. Nothing major
Salionski
The Atlanta and Bud Black connection seemed to be just an assumption from the media. That assumption tends to get brought up with every coaching vacancy.
I don’t mind the DeRosa idea. Even though it’s another former Brave he’s on record saying the Braves need to move on from their old ways. I love Eddie Perez, but I think he more fit the idea of an interim candidate that could become something more. Not sure if they’ll go with him as a non-interim option.
YourDaddy
I think that you are the only one that assumed Black would be brought in as the interim manager. It was pretty much a given that Gonzalez would be fired at some point this season and the media reported that an interim manager, most likely the Braves AAA manager or someone else that they would not be keeping at the major league level in any capacity, would be brought in and that Black would be named manager for 2017.
Salionski
Not sure what you’re reading, but the only person I mentioned as an interim option was Eddie Perez (which ended up being Snitker). The assumption that I noted was the media talking about Black taking over as full manager.
notagain27
If you follow like to follow Sabermetrics, there is statistical data available to see who the top available managers are. Wins Above Expectancy is the formula that list Baseball Managers capabilities based on the roster construction. Of coarse if Braves management simply wants to win popularity contests instead of games, let them simply hire fan favorites that have never managed players at any level.
YourDaddy
If you look at WAE/WAR, or wins above expectancy based on the WAR of the players production, you will find Bud Black near the top of the list of guys that have managed since 1984 behind only Scioscia and Bochy. If you look at WAE/Pythagorean Black is 4th. He is a pretty dang good manager.
bsteady powers
Ventura seems to be doing fine
theo2016
Luck and sequencing have a lot more to do with anything than the manager. Managers are overrated, just keep a positive locker room and manage the bullpen decently. The cardinals this year for instance have grouped all their runs in blowouts, pythagreon loves them but in reality they lead the majors in 8 run games and are 2-5 in 1 run games.
cubsfan2489
Okay 1. Managers are not overrated. Maddon has done a ton for the Cubs. 2. Look at Matheny for St. Louis. He never managed a game and they won a World Series. And 3. Ventura has been a HORRIBLE manager! Up until this season, everything he’s done has been trash! If they fall off (which has already started), he will either be fired or not brought back after this season. (Contract expires)
chesteraarthur
Matheny is commonly thought of as a bad manager, so there goes 2. To 3, you think that all of a sudden Robin Ventura has just been a really good manager through the first quarter of this season?
petrie000
who assumes Matheny is a bad manager?
i’m not a Cardinals fan, be he’s at worst middle-of-the pack. He’s not exactly a cutting edge theorist, but he wins a lot of games with players nobody expects a whole lot from in the pre-season.
halos101
Phillies fans look at your run differential and see if your hot start will last. Good story, but it won’t last much longer.
jleve618
You say that like it’s not the only thing anyone says about the Phils.
marckahn
I am a Phillies fan and you may be right. Phils should stay the course. This is a true rebuild. They are not capable of winning it all but they are fun to watch. Pitching has been surprisingly good. Need time to develop better position players.
T_Rexx2
All that means is that they are a low scoring team with good pitching that has had a few rough games. It’s a very young team with a lot of good arms. They can’t really score many runs but they find ways to score enough for their pitchers when they pitch well. They need another corner OF and for Joseph to hit well and take the job from Howard. JP Crawford will take over at SS soon and they need Franco to start hitting like he can. Of course with no one else in the lineup why would you pitch to the only guy who can hurt you?
Brixton
Since their bad 0-4 start, their run differential is almost even.
Ray Ray
Run differential basically punishes teams for winning 1 run games and rewards them for losing 1 run games. It is one of the silliest stats simply because you do not get credit for extra victories in a blowout. A 10 run victory counts exactly the same as a 1 run victory and a 10 run loss counts exactly the same as a 1 run loss. Run differential also does not predict the future. All it says is that the Phillies might have gotten a few lucky breaks in April and early May. That doesn’t mean they won’t continue to get them. The Orioles in 2012 made the playoffs with a run differential of only +7 (and it was negative for most of the season). The Yankees had 85 and 83 wins in 2013 and 2014 with a negative RD. The only thing that really matters at the end of the year is team wins. Everything else is just window dressing.
steelerbravenation
I am actually surprisingly unopposed to hiring Black. We are going to be a young team and every 1st time managers go through learning experiences. Also with a young pitching staff I think it would be beneficial in having s former pitching coach as the manager. I am not a fan of DeRosa being the manager with no experience at any level although wstching him on MLB and seeing him go back and forth with BK over the saber metrics shows me he knows that the numbers are not everything.
If they are to go with inexperience I would like to see them go with Eddie Perez over Pendleton.
steelerbravenation
On another note did everybody see Julio tonight. Looks like him and Flowers work really well together. He gives a couple more performances like the last few and I don’t think I wanna see him traded not even for Sanchez believe it or not.
cubsfan2489
He’s going to be traded either way. If they think him and flowers are the way to go and Flowers shows he can keep being decent, then both of them will be traded.
means
Sanchez?
mcdusty31
Gary Sanchez…the problem is the Yankees are not playing well and I don’t see them dumping an up and coming prospect for Teheran unless they are fighting for a playoff spot come July
costergaard2
Sandy Alderson is USMC, cancer has no shot against those guys. Respect, sir.
Brixton
1. Odubel CF
2. Crawford SS
3. Franco 3B
4. Williams LF
5. Joseph 1B
6. Knapp/Rupp C
7. Hernadez/Sweeney 2B
8. Nola/VV/Hellickson/Eickhoff/Thompson
9. Goedell/Cam Perkins
Gomez/Neris/Hernandez
i think this team can compete. TJ, Knapp, Williams and Crawford should boost the offense to the point where its not a reliability. The Phillies have got next to nothing out of Bourjos, Howard, And Galvis, so chance is welcomed. The Phillies just need to stick around until Mid July when you start to see callups.
baseballrat
So you think they are keep calling guys up and starting their “Clocks” simultaneously?? Don’t see that happening with any clubs. One or Two, maybe
Niekro
Phillies have something like 13 million committed beyond 2017 not including arbitration eligible players and team controlled contracts, I don’t see clocks deterring them at all with the spending power they have.
jimmyz
The one thing I think will doom Philly’s early season success is the lack of high leverage arms at the back of the bullpen. Gomez is on a good run but he still walks too many people for not being a high strikeout guy and has been a career long reliever to this point, Neris looks legit but both Gomez and Neris already are 1 and 2 in the league in appearances, can’t expect this production to continue all season with such heavy usage.
frankthetank1985
Phils would be stupid to go for it this year. They won’t get past any of the top teams in the nl in playoffs, Giants, Dodgers, Cubs, Pirates, mets, Nats…there is a large difference. They r having a fun start to the season but they know they are not contenders with that roster. Should they keep this up into July, management will “have to” do something small to keep fans happy but they should not mortgage any part of the future. The mets were in a similar state a few years ago and knew hey weren’t going anywhere and look at the staff and cespedes and reed. They wouldn’t be here if they “went for it” a few years ago when they were in the mix.
Calm down, see the bigger picture, and go for 2018 as your all in year.
KoRKDoLLaRs
Hey Nats fans – No Cespedes for you!