The Brooklyn Cyclones were swept out of the playoffs ending the Mets summer minor league program for 2009. Mets minor league affiliates were dreadful compiling a combined 415-476 record for a winning percentage of .466 and an average of 14.5 games back from the lead. The bright spot was Brooklyn whose record was 45-30 and finished 1.5 games behind Staten Island in the New York-Penn League. But unfortunately, the Cyclones' season ended much as the Mets finished the 2007 and 2008 campaigns.

Brooklyn had built a substantial lead by mid summer in the short 76 game season but let it get away late. Unlike the parent team's foils however, Brooklyn at least made the playoffs but they lost two in a row to Mahoning Valley in the first round ending their season. Brooklyn ended their year losing 8 of the last 12 games played.

The only other team to finish with a winning record was the Dominican Summer League Mets who finished with a 49-23 record 3.5 games off the pace and did qualify as a wild card entrant. Playoff results were not available.

In terms of records, the only other somewhat bright spots were St. Lucie of the high A Florida State League and Savannah of the regular A South Atlantic League who both finished right at the .500 mark in the first half of their respective seasons. But over all, both clubs finished below .500.

The worst of the nine farm clubs was Buffalo of the AAA International League and Binghamton of the AA Eastern League. Both finished with awful 56-87 and 54-86 records respectively.

When you look at the records of these teams, you can understand why many scouts insist the Mets farm system is barren of talent. But that is not a fair evaluation. No question it would definitely look better had the Mets had more winning teams down on the farm but it does not mean the Mets do not have chips, they do. Many of them are at the low rookie and A league levels and have yet to develop. Even the ones that were playing well had little around them to offer much protection.

The Mets need to alter their approach in the draft. They have obediently followed Bud Selig's recommendation to stay within conservative spending ranges. However, in doing so they have allowed other clubs to get better players by spending more money at the outset.

The Mets farm system, like so many other things that have gone wrong this season, will surely be one of the topics of discussion when team meetings commence in Port St. Lucie when the season concludes.

Minor League Records

AAA International League - Buffalo Bisons 56-87 .392 26GB last place

AA Eastern League - Binghamton Mets 54-86 .386 28GB last place

A Florida State League - St. Lucie Mets  66-68 .493 12GB 3rd place

A South Atlantic League - Savannah Sand Gnats 65-72 .474 10GB 7th place

A (short season) New York-Penn League - Brooklyn Cyclones (WC) 45-30 .600 1.5GB 2nd place

Rookie Appalachian League - Kingsport Mets 30-35 .462 13.5GB 3rd place

Rookie Gulf Coast League Mets 22-34 .393 16.5GB 4th place

Dominican Summer League Mets (WC) 49-23 .681 3.5GB 2nd place

Venezuelan Summer League Mets 28-41 .406 19.5GB 5th place

With everyone bashing the Mets farm system lately, here's some good news. John Niese pitches a complete game (7 inning) shutout today against Toledo giving up just two hits. With the Mets pitching staff currently in shambles, will it be much longer before Niese gets called up.

In the second game of the double header, Nelson Figueroa also pitched a 7 inning complete game shutout surrendering 7 hits. What does this guy have to do to stick with the parent club for a while?

As much as I have been lamenting how much injuries have derailed this season, you have to wonder what the brain trust is thinking. Livan Hernandez has been awful of late. Mike Pelfrey's head has come unscrewed. Why not give Niese and Figueroa a chance. Could it be much worse? Let's face it, Santana pitched a gem today but what do the Mets do the next four games?

Meanwhile at Binghamton (AA), prospect Brad Holt recorded his second win of the season with a strong effort. Holt pitched 6.2 innings giving up 2 runs on 6 hits.

In other minor league news, the Kingsport Mets bombed Greenville by a score of 15-5. The Savannah Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League (A) also won defeating Hickory by the score of 5-2. The Brooklyn Cyclones defeated Auburn by a score of 11-3. Brooklyn is having the best season among all New York Mets minor league affiliates with a 20-9 record. They lead the McNamara Division by 2.5 games over Hudson Valley.

There are 750 men who make their living playing Major League Baseball. There are thousands more who get paid to play in a couple hundred affiliated minor league teams at various levels. These days, there are even more players earning a living, although not a great one, in the professional independent leagues. Indies are not new, but in the last ten years, they have flourished.

Independent professional baseball teams are all over the country. They are not at all affiliated with any Major League club. The players in the indie leagues are generally those that were not drafted in MLB’s annual free agent draft. Many are former affiliated minor league and ex-major league players who are attempting to showcase their talent for another shot at the Show.  Some are even former MLB stars such as Ricky Henderson, Edgardo Alfonso, and Carl Everett.

The quality of independent league baseball is generally very good. The mission statement of these leagues is to produce high quality winning baseball, not develop players for some higher level like affiliated teams. The competition is better than what is found at single A or even double A baseball.

Independent league baseball is also a great value for family entertainment. Tickets are cheap and seating provides great views from any location because of the smaller venues. In the northeast alone, there are many independent teams, eight in particular play in the highly rated Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.

The Somerset Patriots, who play in Bridgewater, New Jersey, are a prime example of how good independent league ball can be. The Patriots play in the Atlantic League. The league’s eight teams, who play a 140 game schedule, make their home in five different states. Somerset won the Atlantic League championship last season and is managed by former Yankee Sparky Lyle.  TD Bank Park, the Patriots home, is a beautiful ballpark that seats about 6000 and is generally filled every night. The field is immaculate and looks as good as any Major League ball field.

Like affiliated clubs, the indie leagues provide family entertainment during the game. Between innings there are various contests for patrons to participate, quizzes for prizes, and tee-shirts being catapulted into the stands. Hot Dogs, Sausages, Sodas, Beer and other treats are more affordable than at Citi Field or Yankee Stadium. On some nights, you can even bring your dog. For a few bucks, three hours of fun is guaranteed.  The Patriots have a fire works night almost on every home stand, and the show is excellent.

Not every team is a success story like the Patriots. The Newark Bears, also in the Atlantic League, last year filed for bankruptcy. New ownership bailed them out and only time will tell if the Bears will be able to survive. They too play in a very nice ballpark called Bears & Eagles Stadium, in honor of the old Newark Bears and the Eagles of the Negro minor leagues.

The CanAm League is another northeast independent league. The New Jersey Jackals who play at Montclair University and the Sussex Sky Hawks, also from New Jersey, are the two southern most teams in a six team league that also includes a team in Quebec, Canada.  The state of New Jersey alone has five independent baseball teams, the two mentioned above from the CanAm League, the Camden River Sharks along with the Patriots and the Bears from the Atlantic League.

The American Association for years was a triple A league affiliated with the Major Leagues. About ten or more years ago, the American Association was dissolved and the International and Pacific Coast League absorbed the American Association teams.  But now the American Association lives on again, this time as an independent league from the mid-west. There are 10 teams in two divisions in the American Association.

The Frontier League (12 teams from the mid-west), the Golden Baseball League (9 teams on the west coast including Canada), and the Northern League (another six team mid-western league) round out the six independent leagues that provide work for hundreds of ball players.  

Major League scouts spend a great deal of time at independent ball parks. Many players have been signed from indie teams and have gone on to play in affiliated minor league and major league clubs. Last season, Nelson Figueroa’s contract was purchased by the New York Mets from the Somerset Patriots.

Major League Baseball has an agreement with independent league teams to purchase contracts. The process helps the Majors with another means to acquire talent and provides advertisement for the indie leagues in that the players you see today could be in the Show tomorrow.

Baseball is still king in America. There is no other sport that comes close to offering as many professional leagues and teams as baseball. The NFL might be considered the most popular sport because of TV ratings and sold out stadiums for very few games on the schedule. But when you consider the millions of fans that come out to baseball parks at the Major and minor league level, and now the independent level, there is no contest.

I attended a Somerset Patriots game last night in beautiful Commerce Bank Park in Bridgewater, New Jersey. The Pats hosted the Long Island Ducks, both teams are in the independent Atlantic League. There are eight teams in the league where you often see former major leaguers attempting to resurrect their careers.

 

There was no exception last evening as the Ducks fielded Richard Hidalgo in right, the DH was Carl Everett, P.J. Rose, Pete’s son was at first, and none other than Edgardo Alfonso was at short. It would have made my night had Benny Agbayani pinched hit in the 9th but alas he is still playing in Japan for Bobby Valentine.  

Hidalgo played half a season for the Mets and can be most remembered for hitting a slew of homeruns against the New York Yankees in Shea Stadium. Everett had his moment with the Mets and if I recall he once won a game by hitting a grand slam. I may be wrong but honestly I don’t care enough to look it up. The one player that had me puzzled all evening long was Alfonso. What the heck happened to him? He was an excellent player who seemed to lose his skills all at once.

 

Edgardo came up to the Mets in 1995 under manager Dallas Green predominantly as a third baseman. He also played some at second and at short. He batted .315 with 27 doubles and 72 RBI in 1997. His best years however were in 1999 and 2000 the years the Mets won the wild card in back to back seasons. Alfonso had shifted to second to accommodate third baseman Robin Ventura. That infield including John Olerud at first and Rey Ordonez at short proved to be the stingiest in baseball history.

 

Offensively Alfonso hit 41 doubles in ’99 and 40 in 2000. He batted over .300 in both season with his career best .324 coming in 2000, the year the Mets last won the National League pennant. The only time Edgardo batted in more than 100 runs was in ’99 when he knocked in 108. In ’00 he batted in 94. His homerun production in those two seasons was way up as he hit 27 and 25 dingers respectively. During the 2000 season, I recall Derek Jeter claiming the best player in New York was Edgardo Alfonso.

 

After 2000, Alfonso’s numbers began to drop. He went from 94 RBI in 2000 to 49 in 2001. Nagging injuries kept him out of a lot of action. In ’01 he played in 124 games, down from 150 the year before. His numbers continued to drop and ultimately Alfonso left and signed with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent for the 2003 season. His major league career ended in the American League with Anaheim and Toronto during the 2006 season. Since then he has patrolled the minor leagues. This is Alfonso’s second stint with Long Island. He also played with the Mets triple A farm team last season and in the Mexican League earlier this year.

 

I guess what it proves is that an Athlete’s career is short and uncertain. Who knows why Alfonso’s skills left him. Last night all Alfonso could muster was a run scoring sacrifice fly. Honestly he did not hit the ball hard against the Patriot pitchers, none of which will be pitching in the Majors any time soon.

 

It was good to see Edgardo again. He was one of my favorite players at least for a short time. I hope he invested his money wisely and is just playing now for the love of the game. The alternative is too sad to think about.

One bright spot regarding the Mets is the play of their double A affiliate in Binghamton New York. Off to a poor start the B-Mets, as they are known, have won 9 of their last 10 games and have moved into third place in the Eastern League's Northern Division. The Mets (34-28) trail the Trenton Thunder (Yankees) by 7 games.

The Savannah Sand Gnats of the South Atlantic League are playing much better as well. Although still under .500, they have won 7 of their last 10. The New Orleans Zephyrs are tied for first place with Oklahoma but just a game over .500. The Port St. Lucie Mets are in last place with a miserable record of 16-47.

For you baseball junkies out there, SNY will be televising all of the Caribbean World Series (CWS) games starting next Friday.    more »

I thought it might be a good time to take a look at the rest of the organization as we prepare, although a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting, for a new baseball season.    more »

What do Kevin Mulvey, Joseph Smith, John Holdzkom, and Stephen Holmes have in common?   more »