A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

[royals19]

NEW YORK has always been one of America's most iconic cities. From the Empire State Building to Times Square and on over to the Statue of Liberty, it's truly an American treasure. Maybe it's the monuments, maybe it's the cuisine or maybe it's "Seinfeld"... or maybe, just maybe, it's the game of baseball.

Just about every city has its fair share of monuments and its own unique cuisine but you'd be hard pressed to find a city with a better baseball tradition than New York. From the classic Brooklyn Dodgers to the Yankees teams of the 90s... New York is the baseball capital of the world (No seriously, MLB is headquartered out of the city).

But we're forgetting someone... Someone important. The New York Mets; the other guys. The Mets are just as important to the story as the Dodgers or Yankees are... It's been a while since they've gone to the playoffs but it has been even longer since they've won the World Series. Tom Seaver has been long gone. Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden are gone... With the recent Ponzi scheme and poor baseball decisions, the franchise has been stuck in limbo... but now, that's all about to change...

If you're hoping for a 162 game recap, then you're not going to find it here. This is a manuscript for rebuilding a franchise, the correct way. Through the draft, with international free agents and one secret ingredient... numbers.


Roster- OSFM Hybrid 2.3
Sliders- Custom
30 Team Control- Hah... good one. Vita doesn't have it.
CPU Roster Control- ...Yeah

[AC]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers



He's baaaaaaaaaaack!

Nice rosters btw

[CameRoN0407]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers



Welcome Back!

[xboxxerx]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

Following/Subscribed

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

Yessir, it's glad to be back in the swing of things, it's been about a month since I've played the show so I'm plenty rusty on the sticks...

******

Willie Singleton wasn't exactly the coolest kid in his high school days. He was that tall lanky kid with the glasses that always wore the collard shirts. You could say he was a nerd... but while the other "nerds" talked about their comic books and computer games, Willie was crunching numbers... specifically baseball numbers.

You see, Willie had always had an affinity for baseball but wasn't anything special despite playing 3 years of Varsity baseball. What he lacked in talent, Willie more than made up with in his baseball IQ which was through the roof. As a high school kid, he probably knew more about the game than the commissioner. He could spit off records, important games and give you his opinion in one quick conversation. It was his baseball IQ and his affinity for his game that would later shape his future.

Willie ended up graduating from Harvard University in 1999 with a degree in political science and a minor in economics on an academic scholarship. In order to push himself through Law School, Willie went to work as a financial adviser for AIG (American Investment Group). The world of economics however was not all it was cracked up to be. So Willie would arrive at work at 7:00 AM, well before anyone else and would finish his days work by noon or one in the afternoon. The rest of the day, Willie would sit at his desk with his calculator, a pad of paper and the days' sports page and would crunch numbers until 8:00 PM when everyone else had already gone home.

Just Prior to the 2003 baseball season, Willie got a call from the newly anointed Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein asking if he had time to come down to Fenway for a job interview. Willie hopped into his Mustang and drove from New York up to his hometown, Boston.

Theo met Willie at the gates and they walked up to the press box and sat in the front row and looked at the field. Theo had brought Willie up to Boston because the Red Sox were looking for cheaper, alternative ways to build a franchise. Phase 1 of Theo's plan was finding smart people that could crunch numbers and analyze them. Not wanting to be stuck behind a desk all day and with an opportunity to live out his dream, Willie accepted a position with the Boston Red Sox Organization title "Special Adviser to the General Manager".

From 2003 to 2011, Willie worked in the Boston Red Sox with the legendary Bill James trying to uncover players that could be valuable to the franchise and that would be cost effective, by doing his favorite thing, crunching numbers. After the disastererous 2011 season, Willie followed Theo Epstein and other members of the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago Cubs. There, Willie became Theo's Vice President of Scouting and Player Development. In his tenure with the Cubs, Willie found talented players such as Javier Baez and Albert Almora while playing a critical roll in the decision to trade for First Baseman Anthony Rizzo.

However, things were changing for Willie. For the past 10 years, he had compiled an impressive resume and was at the forefront of the industry in analyzing and creating numbers. His talents and accomplishments weren't going unnoticed by the baseball industry. Prior to the 2013 season, www.mlbtraderumors.com listed Willie as the #4 GM Candidate in baseball.

Prior to the 2013 season, Willie was offered a position titled "Special Assistant to Baseball Operations" by the New York Mets. The unusual position title was to serve as a smokescreen which translated to "Future GM Successor". Willie had played second fiddle for most of his career and this position was just what he needed to start the next chapter of his career. Willie was ready to run things the way he wanted. He helped rebuild the Red Sox, he created the opening phases of the Cubs' rebuild project and now, it was time for him to begin his own rebuild project...

[xboxxerx]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

Very awesome intro to Willie Singleton Royals. Always enjoy reading your writings. Looking forward to your work as always.

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

Very awesome intro to Willie Singleton Royals. Always enjoy reading your writings. Looking forward to your work as always.

Thanks dude, I appreciate it. I like to write; I've always had a knack for it and being able to write about baseball is awesome.

******

(made in Photoshop)

The future is going to be a big part of this franchise. I would be lying through my teeth if I told you that we were in win now mode... that's just not going to fly. This thing needs to be overhauled big time, not many of the players on the current roster have any sort of value... even when looking at the numbers. We could try to rush a winner into action but by looking at the current farm system, most, if not all of the current impact talent is major league ready. Wheeler... d'Arnaud... Familia... it's all towards the top. We've got a few gems down lower in the system like Nimmo, Syndergaard, Cecchini and Smith. That may look like a lot, but 6 or 7 players doesn't win a championship. It takes 25 players and right now, the system is loaded with impact talent... then there's 50 feet of crap and then, there's maybe a few gems. We might be inclined to Huston Astros this thing if we don't show promise this season. We need more talent to fuel this franchise and turn it around. In other words, we need to completely overhaul the way this organization is run from top to bottom.

We might as well shift on over to the top 20 prospects because that's what you all are reading this post for right?

1. Zack Wheeler- RHP
The key figure of the Carlos Beltran trade, Wheeler has shown plenty of promise in his short time with the Mets. Wheeler has electric front of the rotation type stuff and some tweaks to cleanup his delivery have improved his control to give him legit #1 starter potential. Wheeler will get a long look in Spring Training but with this type of talent, and given the current financial situation, the New York Mets will not rush him.

2. Noah Syndergaard- RHP
One of the key pieces of the R.A. Dickey trade, Syndergaard has the build and stuff of a future #1 starter. With just two pro seasons under his belt, he still has a long way to go before he can crack the Mets' rotation. At this stage in his development, Syndergaard needs to develop a plus breaking pitch to solidify his status as a front of the rotation arm.

3. Travis d'Arnaud-C
With d'Arnaud, its never been a question of talent or potential but rather can he stay healthy enough to be an impact player. Another key prospect from the R.A. Dickey trade, d'Arnaud is widely viewed as the top catching prospect in all of baseball. He has a power bat and good contact skills to match plus defensive skills. The fact that d'Arnaud brings plus tools to both sides of the ball makes him a legit impact prospect at the catcher position.

4. Brandon Nimmo-OF
Nimmo was drafted as a very, very raw high school outfielder with great tools across the board. As a 20 year old, he's still raw but the gears are starting to turn in his development. With a plus bat and average fielding skills, it's likely that Nimmo ends up moving to a corner outfield spot. At this stage, there is no reason to rush him to the big leagues so the Mets will take it slow with this talent.

5. Gavin Cecchini-SS
Cecchini is everything you look for in a big league shortstop. He has a plus hit tool, weak power and plus defensive tools. Right now, Cecchini is a good shortstop prospect. If he can develop more power then he could be a great one. At just 19 years old, he's still very raw but it already looks like the Mets have their leadoff man of the future.

6. Domonic Smith-1B/OF
Smith doesn't really have a natural position at this point. However, his bat more than makes up for that. Given Ike Davis' recent struggles he could end up at 1st base. Or since the Mets aren't particularly deep in the outfield he could end up manning a corner position there. Regardless though, Smith has the potential to hit for average and power making him a potential middle of the order threat.

7. Jeurys Familia-RHP
To be honest, Familia has better raw stuff than Syndergaard and Wheeler. However, his lack of control is what has him so low on the list. Right now, Familia needs to touch up his command but could find himself in a bullpen role. He's going to get a long look in Spring Training but his arm might be too special to leave off the roster this time.

8. Wilmer Flores-3B
One of baseball's top 3rd base prospects will probably have to make a move to another position for obvious reasons. Flores' bat is just too special to just leave to toil in the minors. He doesn't run very well but his arm is graded out as a plus. He's still young so at this point, he's bound to spend some time in AAA to learn to play a corner outfield spot.

9. Rafael Montero-RHP
Yet another one of the Mets' high ceiling arms, Montero is a different breed however. He has a plus fastball with average secondary pitches. His advanced command separates him from the other prospects at this point with just average secondary pitches. However, Montero still projects as a middle of the rotation arm.

10. Michael Fulmer-RHP
It should be no shocker that another arm rounds out the top 10. He's another one of those pitchability guys with great stuff. He has a plus fastball and a plus slider to go with an average change up. With his durable frame and his workhorse mentality, he should be an excellent back end of the rotation type.

11. Luis Mateo-RHP
Plus, plus stuff across the board... future middle of the rotation type due to lack of wipeout 3rd pitch.

12 Andrew Church-RHP
Great stuff, good command, front of the rotation arm if he can put it all together.

13. Domingo Tapia-RHP
The Met's best relief prospect has great stuff across the board and could be the future closer.

14. Hansel Roble-RHP
Good fastball, average secondary pitches but plus command allows him to be a potential middle of the rotation type arm.

15. Jacob DeGrom-RHP
Has #2 stuff but his command and control will decide whether he's a front end or back end starter.

16. Cesar Puello-OF
He's got a good ceiling as the next Mets' right fielder with all tools either above average or plus.

17. Wilfredo Tovar-SS
He'll give Cecchini a run for his money at short but at this point, he might be forced to move to the outfield.

18. Cory Mazzoni-RHP
He needs more pitches to stay in the rotation. If he can't, then a future in the bullpen is in store.

19. Amed Rosario-3B
He's just 17 but he could potentially be David Wright's successor. All of his tools grade out as a plus... however, it's too early whether we can place that burden on him.

20. Kevin Plawecki-C
Originally thought of as the Mets' long term solution at Catcher, with TDA in the fold, he probably will see time as a very, very good backup.

And there you have it, that's the Mets' top 20 prospects. The biggest thing you'll notice is how deep we are in pitching. Which isn't a bad thing at all. Aside from Smith and TDA, there aren't many impact bats in the system. Hopefully, that's something that will change here in the near future.

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

Mets' Spring Training Complex
Willie's Office
Febuary 20th, 2013
8:00 AM

Willie stepped into his office, it was fit for a GM. Brand new desk, brand new leather chair, brand new laptop excellent view of the complex... It was almost too good to be true. He sat his backpack down at his desk and walked over to his mini-Fridge to grab a Gatorade. With his new role in the organization, Willie didn't hvae to take order from anybody. Essentially, Willie was getting paid $200,000 to do whatever the hell he pleased... as long as it was baseball related.

He walked back over to his laptop and booted it up. He typed in his password and opened up a Word Document, then he went right to work.

"Willie Singleton's Mets' rebuilding Project"

Step 1- Figure out if anyone other than David Wright, Matt Harvey and Ike Davis are potential building blocks. Establish this group as the core and infuse it with homegrown talent.

Step 2- Redefine the Mets' draft strategy.

Step 3- Supplement the product with international free agents and players that have value according to statistical analysis.

Sure, his document was a rough outline... a very rough outline... but it had quite a bit of truth. Outside of those three players, (Wright, Harvey and Davis) there really isn't much to build around. Jon Neise might be added to that list and so might Lucas Duda but they really need to show that they are on the same level as those 3 guys. The bottom line is, we need to define who our core guys are early so we don't accidentally sell players who can be of value to us... that's where the numbers game comes in.

As for the draft strategy, the famous novel "Moneyball" Outlines this fairly well. The past 2 seasons (plus Domonic Smith), the Mets have gone heavy with high school players. In all actuality, we should be targeting college players and junior college players that are refined. That isn't to say that we won't draft high school players because they typically will have the greatest potential and room for development. College players just have better skill sets and will move quicker increasing the time table for our rebuild and on top of that, not many will bust meaning that we should be able to find roles for them at the big league level.

We probably won't outspend teams on the free agent market but in the international market, we could find players that are young and have high ceilings. In this area, we hope to be targeting all markets, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and especially Cuba. We probably won't be able to field a 25 man roster with extreme talent top to bottom so it's crucial for us to use statistics when looking to add or subtract players. We could "Moneyball" this thing but we don't need to right now because of the talent in our minor league system.

It is going to take some serious time to clean up this mess.

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

And it's that time of year folks, the time where we head down to Spring Training and sort through everyone on the 40 man roster and try to piece together a roster that will hopefully make progress this season. The past teams have played their Spring Training in the arid Arizona climate but this season, we get to head on down to Florida instead... boy what a treat.

There's surfing, Disney World, golf, Disney World, Palm Trees, gators... Did I mention that they have Disney World here? This is where its at my friends, Florida is the place to have Spring Training.

So down in Port St. Lucie we start cranking it up and getting ready to grind through 162. There aren't a lot of locks coming into Spring Training so we've got to play nearly the whole damn 40 man every game so we can get a feel for what we've got... I guess that's one of the perks of the job...

Now in the first Spring of a new franchise, we learned a few lessons about this franchise.

First off... the quality of screenshots sucks on the Vita... I ain't gonna complain though because I'm able to play The Show but man... they suck.

Regardless... We've got Familia pictured above. He's easily had the most electric arm of anybody on the roster and we've got Zack Wheeler here. He's supposed to be a starting pitcher but I think it would be more beneficial to use him out of the bullpen to get his feet wet. Not many pitchers have a high 90s fastball sinker combo with a great slider... He'll eventually start but I'm really excited to see him out of the pen this season. If all goes according to plan, then he's gonna be getting the majority of the late inning situations.



Kirk (not gonna waste my time spelling his last name) has been our best bat this spring... that's saying a lot with David Wright, Lucas Duda and Ike Davis on the roster. The center field job is basically wide open so we're gonna have to pencil in Kirk unless Marlyn Bird decides to go really tear it up out there in the next half.



This was the biggest surprise I think we've encountered all Spring. He's not a top prospect, he's rated as a D potential but he struck out those three guys... looking. You can't ignore that, we're going to keep our eye on him and he might just make the team out of Spring Training.




Let me start off by saying that Matt Harvey is looking like a legit #1 starter this season. If we can get Johan Santana back and Jon Neise pitches well or Zack Wheeler makes an impact, we could be looking at a postseason run... The Mets' aren't gonna hold their breath though. Back to Harvey, if he can shutdown those 3 teams, then I can't wait to see what he has in store for the regular season...


While we let that marinate... onward to the second half of Spring!

[Deuce2223]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

I traded for D. Tapia in my Franchise, and like him a lot. The kid throws gas. He actually has decent stamina as well so you could use him as a backend SP a great middle relief guy or like you posted a possible CP..

[beamerball811]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

Lovin' your readings so far. I'm looking forward to reading through this. Great start!

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

I traded for D. Tapia in my Franchise, and like him a lot. The kid throws gas. He actually has decent stamina as well so you could use him as a backend SP a great middle relief guy or like you posted a possible CP..

He'll probably end up getting a crack in the bullpen this season. There aren't that many current guys in the bullpen that are valuable so we'll probably see a ton of different pitchers out there.

Lovin' your readings so far. I'm looking forward to reading through this. Great start!

Thanks dude, it's gonna be an interesting ride with the Mets. I'm not even finished with Spring Training and I can tell this is gonna be a rough rode ahead...

******

Mets' Spring Training Complex
Mets' Spring Budget Meeting
March 18th, 2013
7:00 AM

It was another one of those gorgeous days in Port St. Lucie. The sun was shining there wasn't a cloud in sight. Willie set up a 10 A.M. tee time so hopefully, this meeting wasn't going to take very long.

On this day, the Mets' top brass were sitting in a meeting room. Owner Fred Wilpon was at the head of the table, GM Sandy Alderson and his special advisor J.P. Riccardi sat on one side of the table. On the other side, Willie Singleton sat with the head of player development, Paul DePodesta.

Fred Wilpon

So what's the situation, do we need to spend more this year or what?

Sandy Alderson

To be blunt, Fred we need more money... bottom line. We can't run this roster out there. 3/4 of this team has 0 value.

J.P. Riccardi

If I may add, our latest projections have us losing upwards of 90 games...

Fred Wilpon

So uhh... why don't you guys just do that Moneyball thing?

Sandy Alderson

Because our hands are tied. With your financial instability, we can't afford to dump money into this team and invest in a "Moneyball" franchise. What we have out there needs to be scrapped and rebuilt and that takes financial security.

Quite frankly Fred, I'm afraid to spend anything over a nickel because it might put us under investigation by the MLB. We're really in some deep ****.

Fred Wilpon

Look, I'm telling you put together a team with the money that we do have. At this point, I'm not sure if I'll be able to pay David Wright or Johan Santana this season...

Sandy Alderson

So, you're telling me... no us, that you can't afford the contracts to these players that you pushed hard for? Look Fred, with the recent Ponzi Scheme and all that... as your friend, I think you need to sell this ball club. You need to get your life straightened out.

Willie Singleton

Umm... If I may add, I had some clients of mine at AIG who I still do their portfolios for and they would pay a pretty penny for the ball club.

If you analyze the current situation Mr. Wilpon, you'll find that as we continue this rebuild, you're going to lose more money continuing to invest in a losing franchise. When you combine that with the fact that you'll be losing attendance, you'll be forced to pay money out of pocket, not profit to restock the concessions, pay for utilities, supplies, etc...

Fred Wilpon

And who in the hell might you be?

Willie Singleton

I would be Willie Singleton sir.

Fred Wilpon

Willie, get the hell out of my office. As for the rest of you, figure out how to make the money work.

Good day.

Willie Singleton

With all due respect, this isn't your office.

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

I know it hasn't been that long but Spring Training has really worn out its welcome. Even the most savvy baseball fan can only take so much of Spring Training. The micromanaging, finding PT for 40 players is an exhausting mental exercise. Combine that with the fact that I need to take notes and put this roster together... it's a grind and one that I'm ready to get over with as soon as possible.

So with that, let's wrap up Spring Training and be on our merry way.



OK, OK... maybe I came off too strong. The rotation is great on paper but in all actuality, it's really hit or miss. If our pitchers can get quick outs and locate pitches, we're sitting on a talented staff. But more often than not, they give us a couple good innings and then can't make it out of the 5th... this season, our goal is 700 innings. The bottom line is that we need our pitchers to eat innings or we'll lose ball games.



I don't know exactly what to do here. Outfielders just don't grow on trees. At this point, Lucas Duda is probably the only fixture out there. Kirk Ninehousner or whatever started off strong but it's evident here in the closing stages of Spring Training that he might not be good enough to play everyday. In right field, we're probably looking at another platoon situation with Valdespin and Byrd. I don't want to carry 5 outfielders on the roster but we might be pressed to.



Travis d'Arnaud, this dude is gonna be good. His bat is major league ready but we need him to go down to AAA to improve on his defense. John Buck can't block pitches to save his life and judging by the games I saw, he allowed 23 total bases to opposing runners because he couldn't block the ball. TDA needs to improve on that to become a defensive upgrade over Buck and take his position full time.

Regardless though, he's something to be excited about. With a future of Wheeler, Harvey, TDA, Ike Davis... it's an exciting ball club. Once he gets the call, it's probably for good so keep your eyes peeled.



And lastly, you knew we had to take about our boy Wheeler. He isn't going to make the club out of Spring Training because he needs to refine his changeup and had some command issues but he'll see time at some point this season. Whether its out of the bullpen, or from the rotation I don't know yet. I would prefer to have him get his feet wet out of the pen before moving to the rotation because we don't wanna mess this type of talent up.

Well there you have it, Spring Training is finally over... good riddens.

[Deuce2223]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

I think one real life pickup that would really help your team is the EY Jr to play CF and bat leadoff.

However I think a good move might be Willie calling up the Royals and try dealing for L Cain or Dyson maybe.

[royals19]

Re: A Metropolitan Manuscript- Apples, Queens and Numbers

I think one real life pickup that would really help your team is the EY Jr to play CF and bat leadoff.

However I think a good move might be Willie calling up the Royals and try dealing for L Cain or Dyson maybe.

I actually have EY Jr. He didn't swing it well this spring so I optioned him down to AAA. He'll be back but for now, it's all on Kirk. I like the idea of adding LoCain or Dyson but we've got internal options and I'd rather exhaust those than give up prospects for those guys. However, don't think that we won't look to upgrade the position in the future.

******

I know, I know... This isn't how things shake out lineup wise but it's just here to give you an overview of the roster. The biggest surprise on the roster has to be Jordany Valdespin making the roster out of Spring Training. Right field was wide open so we experimented with him out in Right and the defensive plays he made were impressive. The arm strength wasn't very good but this ability to cover ground was definitely there. I think he'll get better.

Another surprise is Josh Satin. He'll be in a platoon situation with Ike Davis because Davis suffered a wrist injury at the beginning of Spring Training and it slowed him down.

The lineup should end up shaking out like this:

1. Valdespin-RF
2. Murphy-2B
3. Wright-3B
4. Duda-LF
5. Buck-C
6. Kirk-CF
7. Satin-1B
8. Tejada-SS
9. Pitcher Spot

As for the rotation, there shouldn't be any big surprises. Matt Harvey will get the ball on Opening Day and following that, there's the trickster Marcum following by Niese and then a couple crap shoots. Let me start off by saying that outside of Matt Harvey and maybe Marcum, we'll be lucky to get 175 innings out of each guy.

The bullpen was actually the toughest spot to make the cuts. There were a lot of really talented guys out there but at the end of the day, we rolled out with an 11 man pen. Germen made the club after continuing to get good hitters out and Familia stole the Closer's roll from Bobby Parnell who found himself on the way to Vegas after a really poor showing in Spring Training.

This isn't a very talented roster... there are a couple guys, maybe 3 that could really anchor this team in the future... I would argue that we're in Huston Astros shape because we're strapped by big contracts and the team is loaded with fillers outside of Wright, Harvey, Duda and a few others with no real help in sight outside of Wheeler and TDA. Maybe that's too harsh of a comparison but it's hard to see this team playing any where close to .500 ball.