Global warming, a giant oil slick and nobody seems to care while we pick on the banks for a while. Meanwhile, the seas go to hell. But set against all that is the Mets winning 7 in a row, and John Maine striking out nine Dodgers while going into the seventh inning. The Mets are in first place after stinking it up for the first dozen games.
The combined runs total for and against during the win stretch is 35-13. Averaged over 7 games, the Mets won each game by a score of 5-2. Not too shabby.
But it’s all very curious. Their luck went from horrible to undeniably terrific, or indescribably delicious. The Cubs, Braves and Dodgers looked awful. Or was that just the Mets making those teams look so bad?
All I know is that, all things considered, things have turned out remarkably well. The promotion of Ike Davis, batting Reyes third, keeping crazy Ollie and Maine in the rotation, the pickup of Jason Bay and Barajas, and the pickup of Jeff Francoeur before that, all those things have worked out. And that’s not to mention the relievers.
You may have read here that, from spring training on, the relievers looked much better than Manuel was making them out to be. Down in Florida, I thought they all looked pretty good. Yeah, it was the spring, but I was still very hopeful. If anything, I was very concerned at that time about the starters.
But the targets of my biggest concern, Maine especially but Oliver Perez too, have managed to just hang in, like that poster with the little kitten hangin’ on for dear life. And Jonathon Niese, for whom I had been optimistic, has been even better than I’d expected, as has Mike Pelfrey. Santana is still Santana, if perhaps just a kinder, gentler Santana.
I had been concerned about the lineup too, of course, what with the likes of Mike Jacobs batting cleanup. I didn’t have much hope for Gary Matthews (and still don’t) and Rod Barajas. It was a lineup even I could pitch around…arguably. But the call-up of Ike Davis meant we wouldn’t be seeing Mike Jacobs around any longer. It meant, too, we’d see less of Fernando Tatis. Both these players seemed to suck energy from the lineup, and for that matter, from the entire team.
It’s amazing what a little tweaking can do. Ike Davis infused the team with as much energy as had formerly been drained by Jacobs and Tatis. Reyes looks as if he enjoys playing in the 3-hole. Bay looks as if he likes batting just behind him. One could say exactly the same for Wright following Bay and Davis following Wright. Francoeur may be a little farther down than I or he would like but he’s not a complainer. He’s been as instrumental as anyone in their team success, even when he hasn’t been hitting. As for Barajas, he either hits it into the seats or flies out, it seems, but at least he’s doing it from the 8-hole.
But it’s mostly been about pitching, and who’s to say Barajas and Blanco, who spells Barajas, haven’t been keys to the pitching success. I don’t see many shake-offs and, more importantly, I don’t see many stupid calls. Opposing runners respect both catchers’ arms too, as Barajas reminded me just yesterday by throwing behind the runner at first to keep him closer to the bag.
As bad as things looked a couple of weeks ago, that’s as good as things seem now. Even Citi Field, which seemed to just add to Mets woes then, now seems to embrace those frequent line drives hit by Bay, Wright and Francoeur. And, as exciting as those dingers can be, there’s nothing quite like a triple in the gap, especially with runners on, and Citi Field has nothing but gaps, and huge ones too.
Going to Philly just at this time, though, wouldn’t be my choice. Homers come easy in Philly, and the Phils have just the guys to hit them. Howard, Utley, Werth, Rollins, Ibanez, on and on, the Phils just scare the hell out of me. All those fly balls a pitcher such as Maine induces at Citi Field become homers in that bandbox that is Citizens Bank Park.
But it’ll be Niese against Kyle Kendrick in the opener Friday night, which, all things considered, should be an edge for Niese, who, besides being a lefty, has good control and keeps the ball down in the zone. Pelfrey goes next against Halladay, and it would be impossible to wax poetic about that matchup. Santana will close it out though, and, against anyone, I like Santana.
Those pitching matchups make the opener of the Series a pivotal one as far as winning another series is concerned. I’m hoping Niese can go deep into the game too, as I’m a little concerned about the number of innings some of these relievers have pitched. Especially with Igarashi’s hamstring putting him out for the next couple of weeks, it seems as if Nieve, Feliciano and Takahachi could get more work than could be considered optimal.
Balance is now what the Mets exhibit now though, and balance is hard to beat in baseball over the long run. The Mets are getting output from the entire lineup, and both starters and relievers are pitching well. That combination will be hard to beat on any field, in any venue, and, theoretically, against any team, even the Phillies.
The only starter performing well for the Phils is Halladay. Hamels, Kendrick and Moyer have been decidedly mediocre. Former Met Nelson Figueroa, listed as their fifth starter, has a better ERA at this point than any of the other starters, excepting Halladay of course.
Their closer is Madsen while Lidge is out, making them thinner in relief overall. Rollins is out, Juan Castro is in. All in all, the Mets on paper are better than this Phillies team, at least right now.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Anything's Possible for these Mets
I couldn’t be happier. The Mets are playing good baseball. They came back from oblivion to achieve a better than .500 record in the space of about 10 days. And they’re doing it with pitching, not just good relief pitching either. The starters have come on like gangbusters. Santana, Pelfrey and Niese have ben magnificent. Perez and Maine have held their own.
But it hasn’t been just pitching. It’s been the fortuitous return of Ike Davis from Buffalo. It’s been Jose Reyes flashing his speed from the third spot in the order. It’s been Jason Bay starting to hit. It’s been good baserunning, good fielding, and opportunistic hitting, even taking into account a low figure for aveage with runners in scoring position.
It must be pointed out that Mets fans had not been feeling optimistic. There was nothing to feel that good about just about 10 days ago. The angst begins with the starter of the day. With Santana, they worry he’ll relapse, with Pelfrey, they worry he’ll go to pieces with men on base, with Niese, that he’ll realize he’s young, with Maine and Perez, that they won’t totally implode.
None of those maladies befell the Mets starters in this streak of good fortune. The closest thing to a bad start was Maine’s injuring his off-arm and coming out in the fourth inning on Friday, the opener against the Braves, those same Braves that just seem to thrash the Mets at every opportunity. But Hisanori Takahashi, one of their two Japanese imports this season, struck out seven Braves in three innings.
What a game that Friday night affair was! For a long stretch there in the middle of the game, it was two Japanese pitchers facing each other, and they were both looking very effective. But, in the Mets half of the sixth, Ike Davis hit the Shea Bridge in deep right centerfield to put the Mets ahead. It was a truly majestic shot, one that seemed to pee on the Citi Field dimensions.
Then, in the seventh, as if to show that Ike wasn’t the only Met player with power, Reyes and Bay hit two triples in a row. Bay’s shot was quite a shot, just hitting the base of that long wall. Then Wright drove in Bay with still another long shot to right center to put the game away.
I say “put the game away” but when the Mets play the Braves, that never seems to be the case. But after Takahashi left the game in the 7th, Raul Valdez got the third out, Feliciano mowed the Braves down in the 8th, and K-Rod, after giving the Braves life with a walk and a single, finally closed it out after striking out two very dangerous hitters, McLouth and Prado.
That game put the Mets at 8-9. After taking 3 of 4 from the Cubs and smoking the Braves in the opener, they just had to somehow get by Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens to get to .500. Once again, Jonathon Niese got the call, and once again, he came through. He threw lots of pitches and walked more than his share, but in the end, the Braves had scored just one, thanks to some pretty fair (to put it mildly) relief from the likes of Manny Acosta and then the usual suspects, Nieve, Feliciano and K-Rod.
The Mets were .500.
It was a wonder that Sunday’s game got off at all. It had rained all day. But the Mets got a run in the first that Reyes virtually stole and Pelfrey blanked the Braves for five innings before the rains came down for real in the sixth, thus fortunately ending still another game in the Mets favor, and voila, the Mets were a winning team.
It’s easy to like this team too. They still can’t hit very much, especially early in the game, but they have come through in the stretch more often than not. Ike Davis really energized this team while the new lineup, with Reyes batting third, seems to be working too.
Jason Bay seems to have found his swing finally after three weeks of mostly frustration. Wright’s struggles continue though, and it seems he’s lost that swing from the legs that was supposed to bring his power back this season. Hopefully, he can find that swing again.
This Mets team seems complete just as it is. This team has won 7 of its last 10 and its last four in a row. If the Mets had any thoughts about trading Carlos Beltran, who seems to not want to return, this would be the time to pull the trigger, before he comes back, before encountering the risk of a bad start after a long period of injury.
Angel Pagan is no Beltran, but he is a good player and seems to hold his own. And, with Fernando Martinez in the wings up in Buffalo too, I’d think centerfield was not a worry, especially given that Gary Matthews, that second ill-advised pickup (the first being Mike Jacobs), is still with the team.
Beltran could easily bring another pitcher to Citi Field, an established pitcher who could lend some savvy and experience to that rotation, especially if it begins to show signs of faltering. With Maine and Perez, it seems almost inevitable that, somewhere down the road, another starter will be needed, especially if the Mets are still in contention in July.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy watching these Mets as presently constructed. It’s a fiery team, a resilient team, one that’s becoming successful with great pitching, a much better defense with Ike at first base, and just enough hitting to get by, even with some potentially big bats still struggling.
Tonight it’ll be the Dodgers coming to town, with Kuroda facing up against Ollie Perez, who is winless thus far despite his 3.71 ERA. If the Mets can continue to get by his turn in the rotation, anything’s possible in the NL East, even a pennant.
But it hasn’t been just pitching. It’s been the fortuitous return of Ike Davis from Buffalo. It’s been Jose Reyes flashing his speed from the third spot in the order. It’s been Jason Bay starting to hit. It’s been good baserunning, good fielding, and opportunistic hitting, even taking into account a low figure for aveage with runners in scoring position.
It must be pointed out that Mets fans had not been feeling optimistic. There was nothing to feel that good about just about 10 days ago. The angst begins with the starter of the day. With Santana, they worry he’ll relapse, with Pelfrey, they worry he’ll go to pieces with men on base, with Niese, that he’ll realize he’s young, with Maine and Perez, that they won’t totally implode.
None of those maladies befell the Mets starters in this streak of good fortune. The closest thing to a bad start was Maine’s injuring his off-arm and coming out in the fourth inning on Friday, the opener against the Braves, those same Braves that just seem to thrash the Mets at every opportunity. But Hisanori Takahashi, one of their two Japanese imports this season, struck out seven Braves in three innings.
What a game that Friday night affair was! For a long stretch there in the middle of the game, it was two Japanese pitchers facing each other, and they were both looking very effective. But, in the Mets half of the sixth, Ike Davis hit the Shea Bridge in deep right centerfield to put the Mets ahead. It was a truly majestic shot, one that seemed to pee on the Citi Field dimensions.
Then, in the seventh, as if to show that Ike wasn’t the only Met player with power, Reyes and Bay hit two triples in a row. Bay’s shot was quite a shot, just hitting the base of that long wall. Then Wright drove in Bay with still another long shot to right center to put the game away.
I say “put the game away” but when the Mets play the Braves, that never seems to be the case. But after Takahashi left the game in the 7th, Raul Valdez got the third out, Feliciano mowed the Braves down in the 8th, and K-Rod, after giving the Braves life with a walk and a single, finally closed it out after striking out two very dangerous hitters, McLouth and Prado.
That game put the Mets at 8-9. After taking 3 of 4 from the Cubs and smoking the Braves in the opener, they just had to somehow get by Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens to get to .500. Once again, Jonathon Niese got the call, and once again, he came through. He threw lots of pitches and walked more than his share, but in the end, the Braves had scored just one, thanks to some pretty fair (to put it mildly) relief from the likes of Manny Acosta and then the usual suspects, Nieve, Feliciano and K-Rod.
The Mets were .500.
It was a wonder that Sunday’s game got off at all. It had rained all day. But the Mets got a run in the first that Reyes virtually stole and Pelfrey blanked the Braves for five innings before the rains came down for real in the sixth, thus fortunately ending still another game in the Mets favor, and voila, the Mets were a winning team.
It’s easy to like this team too. They still can’t hit very much, especially early in the game, but they have come through in the stretch more often than not. Ike Davis really energized this team while the new lineup, with Reyes batting third, seems to be working too.
Jason Bay seems to have found his swing finally after three weeks of mostly frustration. Wright’s struggles continue though, and it seems he’s lost that swing from the legs that was supposed to bring his power back this season. Hopefully, he can find that swing again.
This Mets team seems complete just as it is. This team has won 7 of its last 10 and its last four in a row. If the Mets had any thoughts about trading Carlos Beltran, who seems to not want to return, this would be the time to pull the trigger, before he comes back, before encountering the risk of a bad start after a long period of injury.
Angel Pagan is no Beltran, but he is a good player and seems to hold his own. And, with Fernando Martinez in the wings up in Buffalo too, I’d think centerfield was not a worry, especially given that Gary Matthews, that second ill-advised pickup (the first being Mike Jacobs), is still with the team.
Beltran could easily bring another pitcher to Citi Field, an established pitcher who could lend some savvy and experience to that rotation, especially if it begins to show signs of faltering. With Maine and Perez, it seems almost inevitable that, somewhere down the road, another starter will be needed, especially if the Mets are still in contention in July.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy watching these Mets as presently constructed. It’s a fiery team, a resilient team, one that’s becoming successful with great pitching, a much better defense with Ike at first base, and just enough hitting to get by, even with some potentially big bats still struggling.
Tonight it’ll be the Dodgers coming to town, with Kuroda facing up against Ollie Perez, who is winless thus far despite his 3.71 ERA. If the Mets can continue to get by his turn in the rotation, anything’s possible in the NL East, even a pennant.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Are Maine and Manuel Strangling the Mets?
It’s a quarter to three, yada yada yada yada dee dee dedee dee. It’s a perfect time to write sumthin’, the Yanks are outclassing the Rangers (again), the Mets are coming off a ridiculous win, and I even have the Cubs game going, from WGN. The Cubs are hosting the pitiful Houston Astros but I’m not really sure the Cubs won’t be just as bad. They often are.
The Mets play tonight, of course. And, after using up their entire pitching staff, they’re handing the ball to John Maine, with instructions to go deep into the game. It is with deep trepidation that I visualize this upcoming contest, the totally pissed-off Cardinals against John Maine on a Sunday night.
Of course, I’ve read that Maine is angry, angry at a number of things…himself, his manager, and the cruel world, I’m sure. Imagine the nerve of Mets management to question his role in the starting rotation! Sure! He had a bad spring and a couple of horrible starts thereafter but, gee whiz, three years ago, he won 15 games.
Has John Maine awakened? That’d be really nice to see. Now, please understand, I’ve mutilated John Maine in this column for quite a while now but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish him well. Nobody’d be happier than I’d be if he goes out tonight, throws bullets and violent sinkers the whole night and shuts out those dangerous Redbirds, Pujols and Holliday and Ludwick.
But it’s hard to imagine. The fatal difference between Maine and Perez is that Perez has talent. Maine just has that slow fastball, the dinky breaking stuff and well, that’s it. Perez finally showed what he could do the other night. He pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just one run over that span. He didn’t have his perpetual bad inning. He was just great.
When was the last time John Maine had a good outing? I’m looking it up right now. Omigosh! He pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball as late as October 2nd of 2009! But before that start, he pitched only sparingly and, from the beginning of June to the mid-September, he didn’t pitch at all, a victim of shoulder problems related to off-season surgery he had in 2008.
I’ve watched him pretty closely since then and haven’t seen that pitcher, the one who baffled Houston batters back in October. And, while I have some compassion for a player with a medical problem, I also understand that this is the major leagues. You need some luck and grit to withstand the rigors of a professional career.
If a player doesn’t have either, there are a lot of jobs a guy with a bum shoulder can do….insurance, beer sales and the like. I don’t need to see that guy take the mound every fifth day for the team I’m rooting for to win. If it takes anger to get this young man out of his doldrums, so be it. If even that doesn’t work, I’m sorry but see ya later. Maine’s already made a fortune. He’s listed on the roster as making 3.3 million this year. A lot of folks could live on that.
So….welcome to a sense of urgency, John Maine. Let’s see what you can do, armed with that anger and not much else to date.
Meanwhile, that 20-inning affair was pretty scary, from the standpoint of future prospects for the Mets. Their hitting was just awful, as bad as their pitching was good. Too many batters take the beautiful meatball pitches for strikes, then flail away at balls thrown in the dirt. I’m talking about Jason Bay, David Wright and Jose Reyes, but the same could be said for many other Mets, all of them really with the exception of Jeff Francoeur.
If it’s Jerry Manuel and Howard Johnson, the hitting coach, who are responsible for this “take” direction, it’s totally misguided for this particular team. These are more free-swingers. Turning free swingers into disciplined batters isn’t that easy. Somebody as smart as Manuel should realize that.
I’ve been against the tide, it seems, with respect to Jerry Manuel. Most Mets fans have had it with him, just based on his record supposedly, but I suspect they really just can’t stand his intellectual bent. And, while I still favor keeping him as manager, I am beginning to have my own doubts about his team’s demeanor in general.
If Manuel is forcing a bunch of free-swingers to show a whole lot of discipline in every at-bat, it is he who must shoulder the blame when that team doesn’t score any runs. When your most valuable acquisition strikes out four times, as Jason Bay did last night, then that is also a reflection of that batter’s direction.
Last year,from the beginning of spring training, Manuel’s thrust was towards his team hitting to the opposite field. David Wright had his poorest season ever, particularly with respect to his power numbers. Wright had just ten homers in 2009, after successive years of having had 27, 26, 30 and 33 homers.
I don’t think it was Citi Field, and I don’t think it was just an accident. I think it was an obsessive direction towards hitting to the opposite field. This year’s obsession seems to have turned towards “good” at-bats, taking pitches, as many as two strikes in certain situations. While the other teams batters get three swings each, our Mets only get one. I’m pretty sure that would affect not just their stats at the plate. That general strangulation could carry over into the field and into the clubhouse.
There are signs of a team malaise, at least at the plate. The Mets are making every opposing pitcher look like Christy Mathewson. It’s not only because they’re not good hitters. It’s getting obvious that even the good hitters are turning bad.
So get off it, Jerry, or Howard, or whoever else may be responsible for this strangling approach to hitting. Too often that first pitch is hittable.
The Mets play tonight, of course. And, after using up their entire pitching staff, they’re handing the ball to John Maine, with instructions to go deep into the game. It is with deep trepidation that I visualize this upcoming contest, the totally pissed-off Cardinals against John Maine on a Sunday night.
Of course, I’ve read that Maine is angry, angry at a number of things…himself, his manager, and the cruel world, I’m sure. Imagine the nerve of Mets management to question his role in the starting rotation! Sure! He had a bad spring and a couple of horrible starts thereafter but, gee whiz, three years ago, he won 15 games.
Has John Maine awakened? That’d be really nice to see. Now, please understand, I’ve mutilated John Maine in this column for quite a while now but that doesn’t mean I don’t wish him well. Nobody’d be happier than I’d be if he goes out tonight, throws bullets and violent sinkers the whole night and shuts out those dangerous Redbirds, Pujols and Holliday and Ludwick.
But it’s hard to imagine. The fatal difference between Maine and Perez is that Perez has talent. Maine just has that slow fastball, the dinky breaking stuff and well, that’s it. Perez finally showed what he could do the other night. He pitched into the seventh inning, allowing just one run over that span. He didn’t have his perpetual bad inning. He was just great.
When was the last time John Maine had a good outing? I’m looking it up right now. Omigosh! He pitched 7 innings of 1-run ball as late as October 2nd of 2009! But before that start, he pitched only sparingly and, from the beginning of June to the mid-September, he didn’t pitch at all, a victim of shoulder problems related to off-season surgery he had in 2008.
I’ve watched him pretty closely since then and haven’t seen that pitcher, the one who baffled Houston batters back in October. And, while I have some compassion for a player with a medical problem, I also understand that this is the major leagues. You need some luck and grit to withstand the rigors of a professional career.
If a player doesn’t have either, there are a lot of jobs a guy with a bum shoulder can do….insurance, beer sales and the like. I don’t need to see that guy take the mound every fifth day for the team I’m rooting for to win. If it takes anger to get this young man out of his doldrums, so be it. If even that doesn’t work, I’m sorry but see ya later. Maine’s already made a fortune. He’s listed on the roster as making 3.3 million this year. A lot of folks could live on that.
So….welcome to a sense of urgency, John Maine. Let’s see what you can do, armed with that anger and not much else to date.
Meanwhile, that 20-inning affair was pretty scary, from the standpoint of future prospects for the Mets. Their hitting was just awful, as bad as their pitching was good. Too many batters take the beautiful meatball pitches for strikes, then flail away at balls thrown in the dirt. I’m talking about Jason Bay, David Wright and Jose Reyes, but the same could be said for many other Mets, all of them really with the exception of Jeff Francoeur.
If it’s Jerry Manuel and Howard Johnson, the hitting coach, who are responsible for this “take” direction, it’s totally misguided for this particular team. These are more free-swingers. Turning free swingers into disciplined batters isn’t that easy. Somebody as smart as Manuel should realize that.
I’ve been against the tide, it seems, with respect to Jerry Manuel. Most Mets fans have had it with him, just based on his record supposedly, but I suspect they really just can’t stand his intellectual bent. And, while I still favor keeping him as manager, I am beginning to have my own doubts about his team’s demeanor in general.
If Manuel is forcing a bunch of free-swingers to show a whole lot of discipline in every at-bat, it is he who must shoulder the blame when that team doesn’t score any runs. When your most valuable acquisition strikes out four times, as Jason Bay did last night, then that is also a reflection of that batter’s direction.
Last year,from the beginning of spring training, Manuel’s thrust was towards his team hitting to the opposite field. David Wright had his poorest season ever, particularly with respect to his power numbers. Wright had just ten homers in 2009, after successive years of having had 27, 26, 30 and 33 homers.
I don’t think it was Citi Field, and I don’t think it was just an accident. I think it was an obsessive direction towards hitting to the opposite field. This year’s obsession seems to have turned towards “good” at-bats, taking pitches, as many as two strikes in certain situations. While the other teams batters get three swings each, our Mets only get one. I’m pretty sure that would affect not just their stats at the plate. That general strangulation could carry over into the field and into the clubhouse.
There are signs of a team malaise, at least at the plate. The Mets are making every opposing pitcher look like Christy Mathewson. It’s not only because they’re not good hitters. It’s getting obvious that even the good hitters are turning bad.
So get off it, Jerry, or Howard, or whoever else may be responsible for this strangling approach to hitting. Too often that first pitch is hittable.
Monday, April 12, 2010
No Time to Panic
Okay, the Mets are stinkin’ out the joint but at least there’s Phil Mickelson. And that pilot who landed in the Hudson River with all passengers totally fine. There are lots of contemporary heroes. But don’t look for any at Citi Field.
Oh sure, things looked great after that first game. Johan pitched a gem. I haven’t forgotten that. But then there was Maine. Maine did the same thing he always does, disappoint. But what the hell, I expected that. And the Mets came back in that one, to tie it at 6, but the scoring was illusory as they did it with walks, and some truly horrible Marlins relief pitching.
Then Niese went out and pitched great but the Mets bats weren’t really there. Pagan and Francoeur got a couple of hits each but the rest of the lineup got just four more. Still, to that time, the Mets were just 1-2, and maybe it was just good pitching from the Marlins that got them.
But then Pelfrey looked better than expected, and showed a nice new pitch in his repertoire. So things are looking up, I think, when Pelfrey starts in the future. The Mets bats were back too, with new catcher Rod Barajas banging two homers and Jeff Francoeur continuing his hot hitting with two homers of his own. Now the Mets were even again, with a 2 and 2 record after four.
Crazy Ollie was up next though, another John Maine, only crazier. Perez had a typical Perez performance but he did go 5 2/3 giving up just 4 runs. And Igarashi, Perpetual Pedro and new guy Jennry Mejia gave up just 1 hit over the last 3 innings. Mets bats weren’t there again, however, except for Francoeur . Even with that though, they could have won and lost only because they got robbed by a great fielding play. So they could have been 3 and 2. Only bad fortune made them 2 and 3. And Santana would be going the next day.
But Johan threw some bad pitches and gave up a big homer to Willingham. The Mets bats produced just two runs. They got those two runs from a most unlikely source too, from Mike Jacobs, who will hit a homer once in a while, but more often will pop up or fan completely. Francoeur once again had a multi-hit game but with less actual effect, as things turned out.
So the Mets are 2 and 4. Manager Jerry Manuel assumed responsibility later on, needlessly I thought, but what the hell, what difference does it make when you’ve got guys like Mike Jacobs hitting behind Jason Bay, or Gary Matthews? Come on, would you pitch to Bay? If you would, what kind of pitch would you be throwing?
Let’s recap though. The Mets lost two games by one run and one game by two runs. The pitching really hasn’t been too bad. But Matthews and Mike Jacobs aren’t the answers. Angel Pagan should play center, not Matthews. And Tatis could play first, if you really want a lineup. Here we go…Reyes, Castillo (or Cora, they both have similar games), Wright, Bay, Francoeur, Barajas, then Tatis (playing first) and Pagan batting eighth, just to get some speed at the back of the order.
The Mets are currently 18th in batting average among the 30 MLB teams, about the same in runs scored, but significantly better in on base average. They’re pretty bad in slugging pct and home runs as you’d expect. What this all indicates to me is that they need some power (they need Beltran back pretty badly) obviously but they could improve things a lot with a better lineup. And that lineup doesn’t include Matthews or Jacobs.
I don’t understand their thinking. Didn’t any fantasy player know that Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews were real reaches? Did they really think Gary Matthews was a significant improvement over Angel Pagan? Did they think Mike Jacobs was going to be more consistent? And how long are they going to stay with these guys? Sure, Jacobs hit one out yesterday, but with him, it’s a roll of the dice, loaded dice against the roller.
The Mets have been unlucky too, I might add. Yeah, they lost three games of four by tight margins, but they’ve also been victimized by nice plays and they haven’t had much luck at third base defensively, with Wright unable to come up with hard ground shots to the third base side twice that I can remember. Tatis can’t really play a nice third base either. So put him at first.
But there’s no reason to panic. For Manuel to say they weren’t ready isn’t really accurate to my mind. They were ready. They just aren’t good enough hitters as a group to hit Livan Hernandez, who pitched a beauty of a game. He apparently was “up” for the game, facing his former teammates, for most of whom he’s pretty familiar.
Francesa is saying this afternoon that Manuel is feeling the heat, that he needs a good start, and that after six games, pressing the panic button indicates your job is in jeopardy. And maybe that’s true. Jerry says a lot of stuff, including yesterday something about revelation that was particularly pithy, I thought.
Rather than feeling for his job though, I think Manuel was just trying to take the heat away from the players, some of whom have really been pitiful and most of whom have been average. Maybe he’s taking responsibility for that stupid lineup he’s been putting on the field. Maybe he’s protecting Minaya, who, if there is a culprit in these proceedings, should really be at fault.
The roster is unbalanced really, with too many outfielders and not enough corner infielders. With this team, to have either Pagan or Matthews on the bench while guys like Jacobs and Tatis are in the lineup, is not really sensible.
And yes, I know Daniel Murphy’s coming back to play first.
Oh sure, things looked great after that first game. Johan pitched a gem. I haven’t forgotten that. But then there was Maine. Maine did the same thing he always does, disappoint. But what the hell, I expected that. And the Mets came back in that one, to tie it at 6, but the scoring was illusory as they did it with walks, and some truly horrible Marlins relief pitching.
Then Niese went out and pitched great but the Mets bats weren’t really there. Pagan and Francoeur got a couple of hits each but the rest of the lineup got just four more. Still, to that time, the Mets were just 1-2, and maybe it was just good pitching from the Marlins that got them.
But then Pelfrey looked better than expected, and showed a nice new pitch in his repertoire. So things are looking up, I think, when Pelfrey starts in the future. The Mets bats were back too, with new catcher Rod Barajas banging two homers and Jeff Francoeur continuing his hot hitting with two homers of his own. Now the Mets were even again, with a 2 and 2 record after four.
Crazy Ollie was up next though, another John Maine, only crazier. Perez had a typical Perez performance but he did go 5 2/3 giving up just 4 runs. And Igarashi, Perpetual Pedro and new guy Jennry Mejia gave up just 1 hit over the last 3 innings. Mets bats weren’t there again, however, except for Francoeur . Even with that though, they could have won and lost only because they got robbed by a great fielding play. So they could have been 3 and 2. Only bad fortune made them 2 and 3. And Santana would be going the next day.
But Johan threw some bad pitches and gave up a big homer to Willingham. The Mets bats produced just two runs. They got those two runs from a most unlikely source too, from Mike Jacobs, who will hit a homer once in a while, but more often will pop up or fan completely. Francoeur once again had a multi-hit game but with less actual effect, as things turned out.
So the Mets are 2 and 4. Manager Jerry Manuel assumed responsibility later on, needlessly I thought, but what the hell, what difference does it make when you’ve got guys like Mike Jacobs hitting behind Jason Bay, or Gary Matthews? Come on, would you pitch to Bay? If you would, what kind of pitch would you be throwing?
Let’s recap though. The Mets lost two games by one run and one game by two runs. The pitching really hasn’t been too bad. But Matthews and Mike Jacobs aren’t the answers. Angel Pagan should play center, not Matthews. And Tatis could play first, if you really want a lineup. Here we go…Reyes, Castillo (or Cora, they both have similar games), Wright, Bay, Francoeur, Barajas, then Tatis (playing first) and Pagan batting eighth, just to get some speed at the back of the order.
The Mets are currently 18th in batting average among the 30 MLB teams, about the same in runs scored, but significantly better in on base average. They’re pretty bad in slugging pct and home runs as you’d expect. What this all indicates to me is that they need some power (they need Beltran back pretty badly) obviously but they could improve things a lot with a better lineup. And that lineup doesn’t include Matthews or Jacobs.
I don’t understand their thinking. Didn’t any fantasy player know that Mike Jacobs and Gary Matthews were real reaches? Did they really think Gary Matthews was a significant improvement over Angel Pagan? Did they think Mike Jacobs was going to be more consistent? And how long are they going to stay with these guys? Sure, Jacobs hit one out yesterday, but with him, it’s a roll of the dice, loaded dice against the roller.
The Mets have been unlucky too, I might add. Yeah, they lost three games of four by tight margins, but they’ve also been victimized by nice plays and they haven’t had much luck at third base defensively, with Wright unable to come up with hard ground shots to the third base side twice that I can remember. Tatis can’t really play a nice third base either. So put him at first.
But there’s no reason to panic. For Manuel to say they weren’t ready isn’t really accurate to my mind. They were ready. They just aren’t good enough hitters as a group to hit Livan Hernandez, who pitched a beauty of a game. He apparently was “up” for the game, facing his former teammates, for most of whom he’s pretty familiar.
Francesa is saying this afternoon that Manuel is feeling the heat, that he needs a good start, and that after six games, pressing the panic button indicates your job is in jeopardy. And maybe that’s true. Jerry says a lot of stuff, including yesterday something about revelation that was particularly pithy, I thought.
Rather than feeling for his job though, I think Manuel was just trying to take the heat away from the players, some of whom have really been pitiful and most of whom have been average. Maybe he’s taking responsibility for that stupid lineup he’s been putting on the field. Maybe he’s protecting Minaya, who, if there is a culprit in these proceedings, should really be at fault.
The roster is unbalanced really, with too many outfielders and not enough corner infielders. With this team, to have either Pagan or Matthews on the bench while guys like Jacobs and Tatis are in the lineup, is not really sensible.
And yes, I know Daniel Murphy’s coming back to play first.
Monday, April 5, 2010
A Beautiful Day, a Mets Day
It’s 11 PM and there’re 11 minutes left in the Duke-Butler game. Switching to baseball, the Angels are leading the Twins and Tim Lincecum and the Giants just finished beating a mostly hapless Houston team. This afternoon, I watched our Metsies thrash the Marlins for still another Opening Day win.
I’m getting worn out, even if I am rather happy about it.
Leaving this Duke game for a while, let me just reflect on the Mets opener, a 7-1 easy win, a Santana gem for 6 innings, a coming out party for David Wright and Jason Bay, a reaffirmation that this Mets team can be awfully good after all. When Wright in his first at-bat knocked one right over the wall in right, I thought I’d just die.
We got some first looks at Rod Barajas as a Met, we saw Alex Cora leading off, and we saw Mike Jacobs batting cleanup. We saw Gary Matthews in centerfield and getting lots of chances on the day. And we saw what was probably the most beautiful day to ever break on an April 5th in New York/New Jersey, made all the better, of course, by the Mets win, and not just the fact that they won, but the manner in which they did it.
I had been a little concerned that Santana would have some trouble in his first start after the surgery. He showed me early on that any concern was needless. The fastball was fast, the changeup was still there, and, lo and behold, there was a nice little slider to befuddle those big Marlin bats.
By the top of the second inning, the game was over, for all intents and purposes. Of course, we didn’t know it at the time. But that Mets bottom of the first showed those Fish that the Mets were taking this opener very seriously indeed. And, as much as I was happy for Wright, I was even happier for Luis Castillo, who legged out what could very easily have been a double play. So, instead of Wright batting with two outs and none on, there was Luis on first with just one out. And Wright made it pay off.
(There’re now 49 seconds left in the basketball final and Duke is still hanging on with a one-point lead and the ball). Now they miss the shot and the ball bounces off Zoubek’s foot. Butler has now taken the clock down to 14 seconds and taken a timeout. Still another nail-biter for the NCAA. They’re back now and the cameras are all focused on Hayward. Oh well, Duke wins, I lose another bracket).
Now back to the Angels-Twins game and good ol’ former Yankee Hideki Matsui drives in the go-ahead run for the Angels with a single to right. It looks like Godzilla is still open for business. I find myself wondering what Johnny Damon did today. Upon checking, he went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 ribbies. He was pretty much the brightest light for the Tigers in their win over the Royals.
As good as Granderson looked in the Yankees loss to the Red Sox last night, it’s hard to believe that he and that big lug Nick Johnson will make up for the loss of clutch hitters like Damon and Matsui. I couldn’t be happier about it either.
But back to the Mets, I hadn’t mentioned Jeff Francoeur earlier. He looked good too, knocking in 2 rbi’s on the day. Come to think of it, I can’t think of any Mets that looked bad. Even the relief corps looked good, Fernando Nieve turning in two scoreless innings and K-Rod finishing up the same way as he always does; that is to say he was friggin’ great.
But there will be 161 more games, the first of which for our heroes begins Wednesday against these Marlins again, with John Maine going up against Ricky Nolasco. Manuel has Maine going as his Number Two if only because Mike Pelfrey gets banged around regularly against the Marlins. I wish I could say something nice here. I have absolutely no faith in John Maine. I’ve seen enough.
Just as this Mets team seems to feed off the intensity of a guy such as Santana, they also seem to absorb the flightiness of Maine. Maine will strike out a couple of guys and then just throw four straight balls, let the guy steal second, and just totally lose focus. I expect no better on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his opponent Ricky Nolasco has all the intensity of Johan Santana with about ½ the talent, which, against John Maine, should be more than enough.
I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be so happy if he makes me eat my harsh words over and over again for the entire season.
While Manuel worries about the bullpen, I’m more concerned with the inconsistency of these Mets starters. A bigger bunch of flakes is not to be found on this planet. (And probably the other planets as well but I have no way of checking).
Maine, Pelfrey, Perez….every series looks to be an adventure. Nobody could predict what they’ll do. Thankfully, all their performances aren’t bad, just most of them. And, more often than not, if they do manage to escape the first few innings unscathed, they will have thrown enough pitches to get taken out by the sixth inning anyway, putting that much additional burden on the relievers.
Aargh, but why get upset now? It’s been a beautiful day, following a beautiful night of the Yankees losing to their chief rivals. It was so nice to see Jorge lose one for them. As good a hitter as he is, he more than makes up for it with his pitch selection and ridiculous fielding. I’m so happy he’s a Yankee. I just wish poor Joba, the only Yankee I like, has to pitch to him.
I’ll start worrying Wednesday morning. Until then, I’ll watch replays of Mark Buehrle’s play.
I’m getting worn out, even if I am rather happy about it.
Leaving this Duke game for a while, let me just reflect on the Mets opener, a 7-1 easy win, a Santana gem for 6 innings, a coming out party for David Wright and Jason Bay, a reaffirmation that this Mets team can be awfully good after all. When Wright in his first at-bat knocked one right over the wall in right, I thought I’d just die.
We got some first looks at Rod Barajas as a Met, we saw Alex Cora leading off, and we saw Mike Jacobs batting cleanup. We saw Gary Matthews in centerfield and getting lots of chances on the day. And we saw what was probably the most beautiful day to ever break on an April 5th in New York/New Jersey, made all the better, of course, by the Mets win, and not just the fact that they won, but the manner in which they did it.
I had been a little concerned that Santana would have some trouble in his first start after the surgery. He showed me early on that any concern was needless. The fastball was fast, the changeup was still there, and, lo and behold, there was a nice little slider to befuddle those big Marlin bats.
By the top of the second inning, the game was over, for all intents and purposes. Of course, we didn’t know it at the time. But that Mets bottom of the first showed those Fish that the Mets were taking this opener very seriously indeed. And, as much as I was happy for Wright, I was even happier for Luis Castillo, who legged out what could very easily have been a double play. So, instead of Wright batting with two outs and none on, there was Luis on first with just one out. And Wright made it pay off.
(There’re now 49 seconds left in the basketball final and Duke is still hanging on with a one-point lead and the ball). Now they miss the shot and the ball bounces off Zoubek’s foot. Butler has now taken the clock down to 14 seconds and taken a timeout. Still another nail-biter for the NCAA. They’re back now and the cameras are all focused on Hayward. Oh well, Duke wins, I lose another bracket).
Now back to the Angels-Twins game and good ol’ former Yankee Hideki Matsui drives in the go-ahead run for the Angels with a single to right. It looks like Godzilla is still open for business. I find myself wondering what Johnny Damon did today. Upon checking, he went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 ribbies. He was pretty much the brightest light for the Tigers in their win over the Royals.
As good as Granderson looked in the Yankees loss to the Red Sox last night, it’s hard to believe that he and that big lug Nick Johnson will make up for the loss of clutch hitters like Damon and Matsui. I couldn’t be happier about it either.
But back to the Mets, I hadn’t mentioned Jeff Francoeur earlier. He looked good too, knocking in 2 rbi’s on the day. Come to think of it, I can’t think of any Mets that looked bad. Even the relief corps looked good, Fernando Nieve turning in two scoreless innings and K-Rod finishing up the same way as he always does; that is to say he was friggin’ great.
But there will be 161 more games, the first of which for our heroes begins Wednesday against these Marlins again, with John Maine going up against Ricky Nolasco. Manuel has Maine going as his Number Two if only because Mike Pelfrey gets banged around regularly against the Marlins. I wish I could say something nice here. I have absolutely no faith in John Maine. I’ve seen enough.
Just as this Mets team seems to feed off the intensity of a guy such as Santana, they also seem to absorb the flightiness of Maine. Maine will strike out a couple of guys and then just throw four straight balls, let the guy steal second, and just totally lose focus. I expect no better on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his opponent Ricky Nolasco has all the intensity of Johan Santana with about ½ the talent, which, against John Maine, should be more than enough.
I hope I’m wrong. I’ll be so happy if he makes me eat my harsh words over and over again for the entire season.
While Manuel worries about the bullpen, I’m more concerned with the inconsistency of these Mets starters. A bigger bunch of flakes is not to be found on this planet. (And probably the other planets as well but I have no way of checking).
Maine, Pelfrey, Perez….every series looks to be an adventure. Nobody could predict what they’ll do. Thankfully, all their performances aren’t bad, just most of them. And, more often than not, if they do manage to escape the first few innings unscathed, they will have thrown enough pitches to get taken out by the sixth inning anyway, putting that much additional burden on the relievers.
Aargh, but why get upset now? It’s been a beautiful day, following a beautiful night of the Yankees losing to their chief rivals. It was so nice to see Jorge lose one for them. As good a hitter as he is, he more than makes up for it with his pitch selection and ridiculous fielding. I’m so happy he’s a Yankee. I just wish poor Joba, the only Yankee I like, has to pitch to him.
I’ll start worrying Wednesday morning. Until then, I’ll watch replays of Mark Buehrle’s play.
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