Jets and Laveranues Coles Part Ways

The Jets and Laveranues Coles have reached an agreement to restructure the wide receiver’s contract, allowing Coles to become a free agent, while saving the Jets any money that Coles was gauranteed next season. The move gives the Jets around $25 million worth of cap space.

This move, in my opinion, needed to be made.  Coles was clearly unhappy this season with his role in the offense, as well as his friend Chad Pennington being released from the team.  The Jets also are in need of a more explosive wide receiver to complement Jericho Cotchery’s physical style of play.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Coles sign with the Dolphins and reunite with Pennington.  The question now is, who replaces Coles in the Jets offense?  Chansi Stuckey will likely see an increased role in the offense, as well as David Clowney, who showed explosivness in the preseason before a collarbone injury ended his season.  It also wouldn’t surprise me to see the Jets grab a WR in the first round of the draft, such as Florida’s Percy Harvin or Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bay.

Could Chris McAlister Land With Jets?

Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News reports that while the Jets have yet to reach out to free agent cornerback Chris McAlister, the team will consider making a play for the 3-time pro bowler.

Chris McAlister was cut by the Ravens on Monday to save $8 million in salary cap.  When I heard the news of McAlister being released, my first thoughts were that he would be a perfect fit for the Jets.  There is of course a connection between McAlister and new Jets head coach Rex Ryan from the past several years in Baltimore.  The Jets are also in need of a shut-down corner to play opposite Darelle Revis.  McAlister, when healthy, is one of the premiere cornerbacks in the NFL. McAlister underwent knee surgery during this past season, but has said that he will be able to participate in “100 percent football activity” by May or June.

Shea Stadium is Gone

 

 The final piece of Shea Stadium left standing came down today.  The Stadium has now been completely demolished.

It’s really strange to see a giant field of dirt where Shea Stadium once stood.  As a lifelong Mets fans, I’ve spent many days and nights inside Shea throughout the first 22 years of my life.   There are certain moments that I was there to witness that I will always remember: Robin Ventura’s grand-slam-single, the Mets scoring 11 runs in the 8th inning against the Braves in 2000 to win 11-8,  David Wright’s game winning double off Mariano Rivera, clinching the NL East in 2006, Endy Chavez catch in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.  I will never forget the way Shea Stadium literally shook during all of these moments. 

While Shea Stadium will always hold a special place in the hearts of Mets fans, lets hope that a change of scenery this year helps the Mets put the past 2 seasons behind them.  It’s time to start creating some memories at our new home, Citifield.

Mets Sign Livan Hernandez

The Mets added depth to the starting rotation by Signing Livan Hernandez to a minor league deal.  The Daily News is reporting that Hernandez could earn up to $1 million this season if he is added to the Mets roster.

Livan Hernandez is a workhouse who has been able to pitch deep into games throughout his entire career.  I was in favor of the Mets adding Livan Hernandez last offseason, because I felt he would have been a great insurance policy if the team was hurt by injuries, which it was. This move means that there is now a 3 man competition for the #5 spot in the Mets rotation this season between Hernandez, Freddy Garcia, and Tim Redding.  This also means that the Mets will be able to develop John Niese in the minors this season and it is unlikely he will be added to the Mets starting rotation in 2009.

Pitchers and Catchers Report

Today is the first day that all pitchers and catchers are required to report to Port St. Lucie, Florida.  The countdown to the regular season is officially underway with only 51 days to go.

Jets Set Their Sights on Veteran QB

 

 

 

According to Mark Cannizarro of the New York Post, the Jets will look to sign a veteran quarterback to fill the void left by Brett Favre’s retirement.  Cannizarro speculates that some realistic possibilties for the Jets next year include Steelers backup Byron Leftwich, Baltimore’s Kyle Boller, or the Rams Marc Bulger, should St. Louis decide to release him. In addition, Adam Schefter of the NFL network mentioned the possibility of the Jets trading for Cleveland’s Derek Anderson.

This makes a lot of sense for the Jets right now.  Besides for Kyle Boller, all of those quarterbacks have experienced success at one point as a starting QB during their career and should all be relatively inexpensive.  The most appealling option of those listed is probably Derek Anderson, but that all depends on what Cleveland’s asking price will be for him.  While most Jets fans will hope for one of the young guys on the roster to step up and win the job, it never hurts to have a veteran presense to create a more heated competition.

Are the Mets World Series Contenders in 2009?

Last week, following the re-signing of Oliver Perez, Mets GM Omar Minaya stated that the team would not make any more major aqcuisitions this offseason, and he was confident that all of his biggest priorities have been met.  Personally, I would have loved to see the Mets add Manny Ramirez to the lineup.  I think that signing Manny would have made sense on so many different levels for this team, and would have instantly made us the team to beat in the National League.  With Manny out of the equation, there are many question marks surrounding the Mets entering the 2009 season:

1. Will Carlos Delgado pick up where he left off in the 2nd half of 2008?  I think this is the most important question for the Mets this season.  When Delgado is mashing, the Mets lineup becomes one of the best in the NL.  If Delgado slumps like he did down the stretch in 2007 and the 1st half of 2008, our lineup becomes below average.  I believe that in the end, the big man holds to key to how this season turns out.

2. Is Mike Pelfrey for real?  Just when Mets fans were ready to write him off, Big Pelf stepped up in a big way, going 11-4 with an ERA under 3.00 in the second half of the season.  If Pelfrey can pick up where he left off last season, it makes the Mets starting rotation one of the deepest in the league.

3. Is Dan Murphy for real? Dan Murphy came out of nowhere to be a major contributor to the Mets down the stretch in 2008.  Murphy showed a tremendous plate discipline and a great eye on his way to hitting .313 in 131 AB’s.

4. Can John Maine return to form after an injury plagued 2008?  Some believe that Maine, not Pelfrey, holds the key to the Mets starting rotation’s success this season. Before having his 2008 season cut short by a shoulder injury, Maine was one of the most promising young pitchers in all of baseball.  Losing Maine really hurt the Mets down the stretch last season, and getting a healthy Maine back this season would be huge.

5. Will the bullpen no longer be a problem?  It goes without saying that the Mets bullpen was the team’s biggest problem in 2008.  The Mets bullpen was historically bad, and no lead ever felt safe. Omar Minaya quickly made it a top priority to completely overhaul the bullpen this offseason.  It started with the Mets signing Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez to a 3 year, $37 million deal.  Following that signing, the Mets brought in two more relievers, Seattle’s JJ Putz and Sean Green, while shipping Aaron Heilman out of town.  With Putz and K-Rod, the Mets appear to have the top 1-2 punch in the bullpen in the NL.  Couple that with the fact that earlier this week, Billy Wagner said he believed he can return before September, and it seems like the Mets may end up with a dominant bullpen this season. The only question, in my mind, is the depth of the bullpen.  I definitely would not hurt for the Mets to add another lefty, like Will Ohman, to the bullpen to go along with Pedro Feliciano. 

6. Will Luis Castillo contribute to this team and earn his $25 million? No, probably not.

So, with all of the question marks surrounding this years team, can the 2009 Mets team win a championship? I don’t remember ever being so unsure about a Mets team entering the season. I would feel a lot better about the team’s chances had they added a bat to the lineup, but in the end, pitching and defense usually win championships, and the Mets appear to have that.

Brett Favre Retires. What’s next for Jets?

As all of you know by now, Brett Favre retired (again) yesterday from the NFL after an 18 year career.  I’ve never been the biggest Favre fan, but I have a great deal of respect for the man.  He was a true warrior throughout his career, and could always be counted on to take snaps under center week in and week out.  That being said, I’m sure many of you, like myself, are tired of hearing about Favre’s retirement.  It’s time for the Jets and their fans to move on.  So now, the question becomes, who will be the Jets starting quarterback in 2009?  I’ll break down the Jets options for next year:

1. The obvious frontrunner to take over as the Jets QB next season has to be Kellen Clemens.  Since being selected in the second round in 2006, Clemens has failed to impress in his limited opportunities thus far.  Many people have written off Clemens as a bust, but I believe it’s too early for that.  Most of Clemens playing time came in 2007, where he started 7 games with a record of 3-4.  While that record doesn’t look so bad, Clemens posted a miserable 60.9 passer rating with 5 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.  Those stats are definitely awful, but lets not forget how bad the Jets offensive line was 2 years ago.  Can KC be more successful with the Jets rebuilt offensive line?  Let’s hope so.

2. Another option for the Jets is Eric Ainge.  Ainge, the Jets 5th round pick in 2008, did not see any regular season action during the 2008 season.  His performance in the preseason leads me to believe that he will be nothing more than a servicable backup at best.  I would be shocked to see him as the starter for the Jets next year.

3. The  most intriguing option on the Jets roster is Brett Ratliff.  Ratliff, who played his college ball at Utah, signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2007.  Ratliff really turned heads during the 2008 preseason with his tremendous performance, albeit against other 2nd and 3rd string players.  At 6 ft. 4, 235 lbs., the kid is certainly built like an NFL QB.  Can he follow in the footsteps of guys like Kurt Warner, Tony Romo, Jeff Garcia and John Kitna, all of whom went from undrafted free agents to successful NFL starters?  This will undoubtedly be the most interesting storyline of the Jets 2009 season.

4.  If the Jets don’t believe that they can solve the QB situation in-house, there are other options out there.  The Jets can draft another rookie QB in the first round, although I am not completely sold on any of the options in the draft.  I like Matt Stafford, but he will probably be selected 1st overall by the Lions, or certainly in the top-5.  Besides Stafford, I’m not sure if there are any future stars at the quarterback position in this years draft.  I am not at all sold on Mark Sanchez.  In my opinion, he hasn’t proven himself nearly enough at USC to warrant a first round pick.  And when your college coach is telling the media that he doesn’t believe you are ready for the NFL, that’s never a good sign.  Kansas State’s Josh Freeman is an interesting option.  A big, mobile QB with a cannon arm. However, he is a raw talent who would be a reach with the 17th overall draft pick. 

5. There are also a couple free agent options out there this offseason.  Matt Cassell would have been the top free agent QB this year, but after being franchised by the Patriots, it appears as though there is no chance of him being a Jet next year.  Even if New England would trade Cassell to the Jets, it would cost us 2 first round draft picks, which would not be worth it for this team.  The other option for free agency is Jeff Garcia.  It’s still unknown where Jeff Garcia currently stands in Tampa Bay under new head coach Raheem Morris. Garcia has been a winning QB his entire career, but I’m not sure if he is the right fit for this team right now.

In the end, I think it comes down to Clemens vs. Ratliff for the starting job over the summer.  In a perfect world, one of these guys will step up and achieve immediate success in 2009.  Realistically, I think we can all expect some growing pains for these guys throughout the year.  My early prediction: Brett Ratliff starts for the Jets in 09.