Ike Davis Wins Thurman Munson Award; Double-A Team Moving to Ottawa?

On behalf of the entire Rising Apple staff, I want to wish all of you a very blessed and enjoyable Thanksgiving. The holidays are a wonderful excuse to spend extra time with the family, and what better holiday to do than this one. So, eat too much turkey, watch a lot of football, laugh with loved ones, and take a nap today. For those who have to work through this special day, we appreciate what you do and thank you for your dedication, as it’s never fun to be away from family during the holiday season.  Before I start to stuff myself with Mom’s cooking, here’s some recent news regarding our beloved Metsies.

Mets first baseman Ike Davis and Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia will both be honored on February 5th at the 33rd annual Thurman Munson Awards dinner. We all know Thurman Munson was the catcher for the Yankees in the 70s and was honored with being the first captain of the squad since Lou Gehrig, but what are the criteria for this award? This honor is presented on behalf of the AHRC-NYC Foundation and is given to athletes playing in New York who not only have success on the field, but are recognized for their humanitarian efforts off the field in helping to raise awareness for philanthropic causes.

Sep 24, 2012; Flushing, NY,USA; New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis (29) heads home on his two run home run during the fourth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PREWIRE

Davis is being recognized for the Ike Davis Foundation, which is focused on helping raise money and awareness to support cancer research for kids. This is a tremendous honor for the first baseman, as his foundation seemed to just start making headlines and catching people’s attention this past season. A lot of ballplayers have charities that they’re a part of or start one themselves, but it’s nice to see a young player like Ike get involved this early in his career. Congrats to both him and Sabathia on this great honor.

In preparing for the Rule 5 draft, the Mets added six players to the 40-man roster to protect them from being plucked away by other teams. These players included Greg Burke, Hansel Robles, Darin Gorski, Wilfredo Tovar, and most notably, Zack Wheeler. It surprised a lot of people that New York didn’t protect Aderlin Rodriguez, who split 125 games between Savannah and St. Lucie last season, hitting 24 homers and 26 doubles.

The New York Daily News reported Adam Wogan will not return to the organization next season, as his contract will not be renewed. Wogan has been well-respected by the team; he was the director of minor league operations for Omar Minaya and Sandy Alderson, and was promoted to a front office position before last season. Alderson touched upon the personnel move, saying it had nothing to do with Wogan, but it was more of a restructuring move within the organization.

This made some news a while ago, but now it seems likely a group led by Nolan Ryan will be purchasing the Binghamton Mets, with a possible move to Ottawa for 2014 more than likely. According to MetsBlog, there are still some hoops to jump through before this move is made official; the stadium in Canada must be renovated and approved, while a lease agreement needs to be agreed upon between the team and Ottawa. President Michael Urda has denied claims that the team is for sale, but it certainly looks like things are headed that way.

This is annoying to me, especially on the heels of the Mets Triple-A affiliate being moved from Buffalo to Las Vegas. Although the Double-A team will be on the same side of the country as New York, they will now be further away and in a different country. Coupling that with having the Triple-A affiliate 3,000 miles away makes it tougher for the team to make personnel moves, like when they’re promoting players to the Majors and have to fill the rosters at the lower levels. If it were up to me, I’d end the agreement between the two and find another city that can house an affiliate closer to Flushing, or at least in America. Ottawa sounds like a good spot for the Blue Jays; I mean, they already have Buffalo for their Triple-A team. It’s sad because the Mets and Binghamton have been working together since 1992, but all good things must come to an end.

That’s it for today; have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!