This week is almost over. WooHoo! There was no baseball at all except for the worst telecast of an All-Star Game ever Tuesday night. Jack Buck and Tim McCarver as hosts wasn’t bad enough. There were also totally obnoxious people Fox threw into the dugouts as well. One used-car salesman lookalike kept saying “talk to me, man”. It was disgusting. Fox now joins ESPN on my “don’t watch” list.
The game itself wasn’t all that bad. The announcers were. One boring guy would be bad enough but Fox felt they needed two. Jack Buck just reeks of smugness. McCarver’s full of insights ad infinitum in that drawl that puts me asleep. Where’s Kevin Millar or Harold Johnson when you really need them?
Then, wonder of wonders, after three years of spending our hard-earned taxpayer money in an effort to nail the arrogant Roger Clemens for lying to Congress about steroids, the prosecution totally blows the trial by defying the judge’s direct order. The judge was awfully quick to call a mistrial too. The whole thing is really suspicious-looking. And in the beginning of September, there’ll be another hearing to determine whether the case should be re-tried.
What a waste of money! It’s just what the American people need right now. I don’t know about anybody else. I’m tired of the way this country is running, or not running. I’m blaming Obama. The same guy who’s dragging out the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by printing money so that our existing money becomes worthless, the same guy who wants deficits up the ying-yang, the same guy who’s really done nothing but bankrupt the country, he thinks Roger Clemens needs to go down, no matter what the cost.
The government is now 0 and 2 in its perjury efforts against Bonds and Clemens. Yeah, I know, the Bonds jury found Bonds guilty of one count but that verdict didn’t even make any sense. They convicted him of obstruction of justice without one single guilty for perjury. So that will still drag on making all the lawyers very happy.
As this is written, CC Sabathia shut down the Jays earlier in the day and the Mets are beating Cole Hamels and the Phillies 3-0. Beltrans’s not playing today and supposedly has a fever. I’m fine with Carlos sitting out if it’ll help ensure his good health prior to a deal being done. It’ll be good to get some prospects in here.
The Mets traded K-Rod of course already and that move made sense too. It made even more sense that K-Rod was the first to go, this despite his overall good performance this year. That troublesome 17 mill option was negotiated away apparently so that K-Rod wouldn’t have to deal with any awkwardness as to games in which he’ll appear. But it’s unclear what prospects the Mets actually picked up in that trade. It was done mostly to improve their overall salary situation.
If it will help the club to sign Reyes to another contract, or at the least to be able to make him an offer, it makes sense to trade Beltran as well. The Giants had been courting him, supposedly, and there is interest coming from Philly and Boston and maybe some other clubs as well.
I don’t think there can be any question that the Mets will fare worse this year without their closer and leading hitter. But with Wright soon returning and Reyes too, the Mets should at least be positioned to score some more runs.
Not that you could complain today about runs scored as the Mets are now leading the Phils and Hamels 5-0 and even Jason bay just contributed a hit. Ike Davis and Santana are likely out for this entire season though, an eventuality that nobody expected earlier. I’m hoping Wright comes back strong off his fractured back and can perform at least as well as the plug-ins have been playing. He surely wasn’t impressing anybody before he went down.
Hamels is out of this game and now the Mets lead is 7-zip. It looks to be still another hit barrage although Murphy did slug a rather long dinger off Hamels. They’ll need all the hits they can get too. Without K-Rod, the Mets are left with candidates who’ve either never closed or, in Isringhausen’s case, haven’t closed in a long time.
All in all, I’d expect them to still be able to play .500 ball throughout this season and maybe it’ll be next year that will smile on our heroes. Gee, that sounds vaguely familiar. Maybe that pirate of a lawyer for the other losers in that Ponzi scheme can finally be made to seek and sink some other unfortunate ships.
Oh well, at least the NFL lockout may be winding down. Both sides seem fairly confident at this juncture. I hadn’t been optimistic at all re a settlement. I did think it rather amazing that the owners didn’t find out until Thursday that the Players Association had secured an insurance policy against a lockout, the proceeds of which would assure up to 200, 000 dollars per player. That surely did speed things right along.
It’ll be great to finally be able to watch the NFL Network again. And, with Mets prospects this year looking rather bleak at the moment, there’ll be some measure of happiness thinking about the ridiculous Giants and Jets fortunes for the upcoming year. And fantasy football drafts can proceed without further ado.
It’s times like these that focus one’s priorities in life. Continuations of ridiculous wars while we’re broke, stupid failed prosecutions for minor offenses, and the only winners are the lawyers and the judges. If any country needs an outlet rather than reality, it’s our good ol’ USA.
And, speaking of the USA, tomorrow our women’s soccer team can win the FIFA Gold Cup if they can get by Japan, this after putting on the show of their lives against France in the semifinal. I know I’ll be watching.
Showing posts with label Beltran. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Beltran. Show all posts
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
One Mothful of an If
Lately I’ve been asking myself, “can a team be really serious about winning a pennant, or these days, just making the playoffs, if it has only one lefty relief pitcher? That, of course, is secondary to the other big question, namely “Why should I care”?
I mean, really, the Mets are now just the Buffalo minor league team with a few ringers named Beltran and Reyes and Bay. But they’re one hell of a minor league team! They proved that again last night when first baseman (using the term loosely) Duda muffed the grounder that gave the hated(by me anyway) Braves the win.
So, once again, the Mets fell below .500. And it’s not the end of the world. As Collins said after the game, they beat two of their best pitchers and finished the road trip 6-4. But, to me, it would have been great if all of Chipper’s heroics went for naught and if K-Rod could have come through with another save in that spot.
But he couldn’t. He parked a pitch around belt high and over the plate and some Braves nobody belted a 2-run homer for the tie in the ninth, setting the stage for Duda’s frolics at first base, or more accurately, about 10 yards out from that bag. Geez, Tejada could’ve had it too.
And that sequence of events is a lot like a lot of other events of the same nature that have happened to these ridiculous Mets. But it’s ok. They’ve also had those days when the pitching was great and the hits just kept coming. And I’ll take triples over home runs just any old day.
One wonders how long these guys can keep it up. The most prominent of “ these guys” would have to be Justin Turner. I mean, really, you can stick him in at second or third, and he just hits with men on base nearly all the time. He surely has more ribbies per at-bat than anyone else on the planet.
To me, the second “guy” is Reuben Tejada. I liked him even last year when he couldn’t hit to save his life. But, this year, he’s killing the ball, especially for him based on last year’s performance. He’s a natural at second base and plays shortstop in a pinch, that pinch one that may be experienced quite quickly, either this year or next.
Then there’s crazy Daniel Murphy who, it seems, will either win one for you or lose one for you in either the most unlikely or embarrassing way. You really don’t know what you’re going to get from Murphy, and, while that may not be a good thing, it surely is interesting to watch.
The catcher, Josh Thole, would probably be right up there with Murphy. Besides holding down the most difficult position on the field, he also seems to hit in the clutch. And he’s lucky, because most of the big hits I recall are just little Texas-leaguers down the line. You can’t over-estimate the value of luck.
And then there’s Duda. He’s not one of the “guys”yet. But he could become one really easy. He’s big and could be dangerous at the plate, if a home run is what you need. The problem with Duda Is that he never seems to really come through. A check on his BA reveals a paltry .139 average. But for him at least, it’s still early. He’s had 36 at-bats.
To me, Pagan isn’t really far removed from the rest of the bunch. He can be pretty exasperating for a veteran player. He surely won’t be on any of my favorites lists until he stops making mistakes on the bases. That drives me crazy. He’s supposed to be an asset on the bases.
Of course, there are the pitching “guys” too. They’re all coming through. Niese, Dickey, Gee, even Parnell, they’ve all been pleasant surprises. And thank the baseball gods for that! Without the excellent pitching in the last couple of weeks, that right around .500 clip could have been a lot worse.
The upcoming schedule is really ridiculous. Interleague play will be bringing us the Angels and the Oakland A’s. I don’t even know what to say about that! The only good thing about it is that we’ll play without a designated hitter, as always in National League baseball, while those teams will have to figure out a way of fielding nine and still maintaining a viable lineup.
But then it’ll be at Texas and at Detroit. That seems like bad luck to me. They’re both pretty much at the top of the heap in the American League. But, at the very least, we should enjoy seeing how Daniel Murphy will react to being a designated hitter. The man without a position will finally have his spot.
The only sure thing is that this team will probably be broken up. Beltran, K-Rod, and maybe Reyes will be gone. That’s the only move that makes sense, especially for a franchise having its financial troubles. But, as each player move will just be a rental for the receiving team, the Mets can’t even expect much in return that will help the team this year.
As that’s the case, life after the All-Star break for Mets fans could be pretty bleak. Tejada can move to shortstop and probably lead off as well. That’ll free up second base for Turner. And all that’ll be lost will be all those hits, all those triples, and all that excitement.
I’d hate to think Duda is the only answer to spell Beltran in right field. Jason Pridie, still another one of the lesser “guys”, is hitting just .234 as this is written, and, while he can provide some pop, he’s no Carlos Beltran. (Not that many others are).
If Jason Bay starts providing some pop, the absence of Beltran might not be so conspicuous, especially after Wright and Ike Davis return to the lineup. But that’s one mouthful of an if.
I mean, really, the Mets are now just the Buffalo minor league team with a few ringers named Beltran and Reyes and Bay. But they’re one hell of a minor league team! They proved that again last night when first baseman (using the term loosely) Duda muffed the grounder that gave the hated(by me anyway) Braves the win.
So, once again, the Mets fell below .500. And it’s not the end of the world. As Collins said after the game, they beat two of their best pitchers and finished the road trip 6-4. But, to me, it would have been great if all of Chipper’s heroics went for naught and if K-Rod could have come through with another save in that spot.
But he couldn’t. He parked a pitch around belt high and over the plate and some Braves nobody belted a 2-run homer for the tie in the ninth, setting the stage for Duda’s frolics at first base, or more accurately, about 10 yards out from that bag. Geez, Tejada could’ve had it too.
And that sequence of events is a lot like a lot of other events of the same nature that have happened to these ridiculous Mets. But it’s ok. They’ve also had those days when the pitching was great and the hits just kept coming. And I’ll take triples over home runs just any old day.
One wonders how long these guys can keep it up. The most prominent of “ these guys” would have to be Justin Turner. I mean, really, you can stick him in at second or third, and he just hits with men on base nearly all the time. He surely has more ribbies per at-bat than anyone else on the planet.
To me, the second “guy” is Reuben Tejada. I liked him even last year when he couldn’t hit to save his life. But, this year, he’s killing the ball, especially for him based on last year’s performance. He’s a natural at second base and plays shortstop in a pinch, that pinch one that may be experienced quite quickly, either this year or next.
Then there’s crazy Daniel Murphy who, it seems, will either win one for you or lose one for you in either the most unlikely or embarrassing way. You really don’t know what you’re going to get from Murphy, and, while that may not be a good thing, it surely is interesting to watch.
The catcher, Josh Thole, would probably be right up there with Murphy. Besides holding down the most difficult position on the field, he also seems to hit in the clutch. And he’s lucky, because most of the big hits I recall are just little Texas-leaguers down the line. You can’t over-estimate the value of luck.
And then there’s Duda. He’s not one of the “guys”yet. But he could become one really easy. He’s big and could be dangerous at the plate, if a home run is what you need. The problem with Duda Is that he never seems to really come through. A check on his BA reveals a paltry .139 average. But for him at least, it’s still early. He’s had 36 at-bats.
To me, Pagan isn’t really far removed from the rest of the bunch. He can be pretty exasperating for a veteran player. He surely won’t be on any of my favorites lists until he stops making mistakes on the bases. That drives me crazy. He’s supposed to be an asset on the bases.
Of course, there are the pitching “guys” too. They’re all coming through. Niese, Dickey, Gee, even Parnell, they’ve all been pleasant surprises. And thank the baseball gods for that! Without the excellent pitching in the last couple of weeks, that right around .500 clip could have been a lot worse.
The upcoming schedule is really ridiculous. Interleague play will be bringing us the Angels and the Oakland A’s. I don’t even know what to say about that! The only good thing about it is that we’ll play without a designated hitter, as always in National League baseball, while those teams will have to figure out a way of fielding nine and still maintaining a viable lineup.
But then it’ll be at Texas and at Detroit. That seems like bad luck to me. They’re both pretty much at the top of the heap in the American League. But, at the very least, we should enjoy seeing how Daniel Murphy will react to being a designated hitter. The man without a position will finally have his spot.
The only sure thing is that this team will probably be broken up. Beltran, K-Rod, and maybe Reyes will be gone. That’s the only move that makes sense, especially for a franchise having its financial troubles. But, as each player move will just be a rental for the receiving team, the Mets can’t even expect much in return that will help the team this year.
As that’s the case, life after the All-Star break for Mets fans could be pretty bleak. Tejada can move to shortstop and probably lead off as well. That’ll free up second base for Turner. And all that’ll be lost will be all those hits, all those triples, and all that excitement.
I’d hate to think Duda is the only answer to spell Beltran in right field. Jason Pridie, still another one of the lesser “guys”, is hitting just .234 as this is written, and, while he can provide some pop, he’s no Carlos Beltran. (Not that many others are).
If Jason Bay starts providing some pop, the absence of Beltran might not be so conspicuous, especially after Wright and Ike Davis return to the lineup. But that’s one mouthful of an if.
Monday, May 9, 2011
On Hitting and Just Looking
Hitters hit. It’s an axiom as old as baseball itself. It’s as true today as it ever was too, albeit somewhat diluted by steroid usage, the differences in home ballparks and the odd manager who keeps moving a batter around in the lineup.
I read the other day that only about 10 percent of players are being tested for steroids. That means that we’ll continue to see some big surprises, maybe even bigger than the shock to us all when Manny Ramirez tested positive. But the really smart cheaters won’t get caught. And, as long as the situation prevails, we’ll continue to see wildly aberrant performances. Some presumed hitters won’t hit.
Then there’re the ridiculous differences in the dimensions of ballparks. San Diego and New York Mets hitters won’t hit quite as well, or for as much power as those lucky enough to call Colorado or Philadelphia or Texas their home ballparks. In the course of a 162-game season, there isn’t a level playing field.
Then there are the odd brainiac managers who think they will re-invent the wheel. They’ll bat leadoff hitters third and vice-versa, not to mention moving lefties down against lefty pitchers and so on. It’s a manager’s prerogative of course to set the lineup and many of them totally abuse the responsibility.
There can be other variables involved in a batter’s performance too, not the least of which is a batter changing teams, moving from a small media outlet to a much larger one. I’m thinking of course of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez moving from Tampa Bay and San Diego respectively to the craziness of Boston. Or, closer to home, there were the first-year failures of Carlos Beltran and, more recently, Jason Bay.
Some short-term poor performances defy any explanation. Take David Wright. Here’s a great hitter who just won’t swing the bat, a guy who seems to have lost all confidence at the plate and a guy who has so far steadfastly refused to change his approach, either to stand closer to the plate or, from time to time, to stop swinging up at the ball.
Of course, there is something to be said for ignoring suggestions too. Take Derek Jeter. Try as he might to change his stride in order to get that bat around quicker, which just about everyone thought his 37-year-old wrists, arms and reaction-time just couldn’t do anymore, he just couldn’t do it. The very minute he stopped thinking, he started to hit again, in a very big way.
Then there is the curious case of Curtis Granderson. He was taught to change his approach so that he’d hit lefties better. He so far has been able to do just that. And, so far at least, he’s proven adaptable in just about every way. He’s been moved around in the batting order to no effect. He just keeps hitting and many of the balls he hits go a long way.
So it must be ego. A guy with just a touch of ego can take a good suggestion and run with it. He’ll recognize a shortcoming in his game and try to do something about it. The David Wrights of the world will not change. The little voices in their heads say no. You’ve been successful before. You’ll be successful again.
Do I have a point here? Actually, to be perfectly honest….no. It’s just that the entire subject of hitting is fascinating, in large part because it’s totally perplexing.
I have forgotten one other big variable and that is the manager’s approach to hitting, specifically that of wearing the opposing pitcher down by taking as many pitches per at-bat as possible. Terry Collins is obviously a very strong proponent of taking pitches. The David Wright’s of the world take the pitches in the middle of the plate and swing at balls in the dirt after taking two strikes.
The approach should be a little more specific than just taking as many pitches as possible. A batter has to have the opportunity to swing at a ball down the middle, no matter that it’s the first pitch, especially when facing pitchers with great control, the Cliff Lee’s and Tim Lincecum’s of the world.
Making matters worse for the Mets, many of the great pitchers in the game reside in their division, in Philadelphia and Atlanta and Florida. Take pitches against these teams and lose. Why even play the game? Just roll over and play dead. That’s exactly where you’ll be anyway. There are no rewards given out at season’s end for number of pitches taken.
Terry Collins strikes me as one of these guys who will treat everybody the same. He’ll treat David Wright the same as he’ll treat a Jason Pridie or a Justin Turner. Well, that’s just great. But it doesn’t work. David Wright is a hitter. Carlos Beltran is a hitter. Too many of the others are just not. All the players can’t be treated the same way.
There are enough obstacles to hitting. The pitchers are getting better. They’re all developing new pitches. The strike zone is made artificially big by umpires who just want to go home early. Added to that stupidity, there are the vindictive umpires who’ll continue to punish any player who has the temerity to question them. Ask Ike Davis about that phenomenon.
Given the Metsies incredibly bad start, a Mets fan really can’t be too unhappy with their current position. The players playing for contracts have been great. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are proving themselves worthy of big money. They’ve been hitters, are hitters right now and will probably be hitters in the future.
But Reyes swings at strikes. So does Beltran, no matter whether it’s the first pitch or not. Pitchers are afraid to walk Reyes. It’s the worst case scenario for them. Beltran is too smart for pitchers to have their way with.
A walk is not as good as a hit, David. Not feeling confident? Sit yourself down.
I read the other day that only about 10 percent of players are being tested for steroids. That means that we’ll continue to see some big surprises, maybe even bigger than the shock to us all when Manny Ramirez tested positive. But the really smart cheaters won’t get caught. And, as long as the situation prevails, we’ll continue to see wildly aberrant performances. Some presumed hitters won’t hit.
Then there’re the ridiculous differences in the dimensions of ballparks. San Diego and New York Mets hitters won’t hit quite as well, or for as much power as those lucky enough to call Colorado or Philadelphia or Texas their home ballparks. In the course of a 162-game season, there isn’t a level playing field.
Then there are the odd brainiac managers who think they will re-invent the wheel. They’ll bat leadoff hitters third and vice-versa, not to mention moving lefties down against lefty pitchers and so on. It’s a manager’s prerogative of course to set the lineup and many of them totally abuse the responsibility.
There can be other variables involved in a batter’s performance too, not the least of which is a batter changing teams, moving from a small media outlet to a much larger one. I’m thinking of course of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez moving from Tampa Bay and San Diego respectively to the craziness of Boston. Or, closer to home, there were the first-year failures of Carlos Beltran and, more recently, Jason Bay.
Some short-term poor performances defy any explanation. Take David Wright. Here’s a great hitter who just won’t swing the bat, a guy who seems to have lost all confidence at the plate and a guy who has so far steadfastly refused to change his approach, either to stand closer to the plate or, from time to time, to stop swinging up at the ball.
Of course, there is something to be said for ignoring suggestions too. Take Derek Jeter. Try as he might to change his stride in order to get that bat around quicker, which just about everyone thought his 37-year-old wrists, arms and reaction-time just couldn’t do anymore, he just couldn’t do it. The very minute he stopped thinking, he started to hit again, in a very big way.
Then there is the curious case of Curtis Granderson. He was taught to change his approach so that he’d hit lefties better. He so far has been able to do just that. And, so far at least, he’s proven adaptable in just about every way. He’s been moved around in the batting order to no effect. He just keeps hitting and many of the balls he hits go a long way.
So it must be ego. A guy with just a touch of ego can take a good suggestion and run with it. He’ll recognize a shortcoming in his game and try to do something about it. The David Wrights of the world will not change. The little voices in their heads say no. You’ve been successful before. You’ll be successful again.
Do I have a point here? Actually, to be perfectly honest….no. It’s just that the entire subject of hitting is fascinating, in large part because it’s totally perplexing.
I have forgotten one other big variable and that is the manager’s approach to hitting, specifically that of wearing the opposing pitcher down by taking as many pitches per at-bat as possible. Terry Collins is obviously a very strong proponent of taking pitches. The David Wright’s of the world take the pitches in the middle of the plate and swing at balls in the dirt after taking two strikes.
The approach should be a little more specific than just taking as many pitches as possible. A batter has to have the opportunity to swing at a ball down the middle, no matter that it’s the first pitch, especially when facing pitchers with great control, the Cliff Lee’s and Tim Lincecum’s of the world.
Making matters worse for the Mets, many of the great pitchers in the game reside in their division, in Philadelphia and Atlanta and Florida. Take pitches against these teams and lose. Why even play the game? Just roll over and play dead. That’s exactly where you’ll be anyway. There are no rewards given out at season’s end for number of pitches taken.
Terry Collins strikes me as one of these guys who will treat everybody the same. He’ll treat David Wright the same as he’ll treat a Jason Pridie or a Justin Turner. Well, that’s just great. But it doesn’t work. David Wright is a hitter. Carlos Beltran is a hitter. Too many of the others are just not. All the players can’t be treated the same way.
There are enough obstacles to hitting. The pitchers are getting better. They’re all developing new pitches. The strike zone is made artificially big by umpires who just want to go home early. Added to that stupidity, there are the vindictive umpires who’ll continue to punish any player who has the temerity to question them. Ask Ike Davis about that phenomenon.
Given the Metsies incredibly bad start, a Mets fan really can’t be too unhappy with their current position. The players playing for contracts have been great. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran are proving themselves worthy of big money. They’ve been hitters, are hitters right now and will probably be hitters in the future.
But Reyes swings at strikes. So does Beltran, no matter whether it’s the first pitch or not. Pitchers are afraid to walk Reyes. It’s the worst case scenario for them. Beltran is too smart for pitchers to have their way with.
A walk is not as good as a hit, David. Not feeling confident? Sit yourself down.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Mets Win !! A March Tale
I have to admit I’m psyched. The greatest American game is a month away. And this could be a magic year for the Mets. I’m starting to feel it.
Imagine…Imagine a team with broke owners and no bigtime pitchers going on to win 90 games to eke out a playoff spot. Imagine a team that’s close at the All-Star break being lifted by the return of its star pitcher from injury.
Imagine a team whose second-year guys play like seasoned veterans. Imagine a team whose bargain- basement pitching acquisitions go on to win 30 games. Imagine a team whose hard-luck pitchers of the year before suddenly start to win the games they lost the previous year.
Imagine a healthy Jose Reyes in his contract year stealing 60 bases and scoring 130 runs. Imagine a Carlos Beltran limping along to get big hit after big hit in key spots down the stretch. Imagine a Jason Bay totally turning around his miserable performance of his first year in New York.
Yeah, I know. That’s a lot of imagining. But why not us? Maybe the bad luck has gone the way of Omar and Jerry. Maybe the Mets will be as lucky as their owners are not. Maybe this season will be the lucky one, the rabbit’s foot year.
Ya gotta believe. Tug McGraw had it right.
I was in the stands for Games 2 and 5 of the 1969 World Series. The Mets beat the Orioles in five games. But that team wasn’t expected to win. Their lineup was pretty suspect. Their pitchers were young, even if they had names like Seaver and Koosman and Gentry et al.
That ’86 team was expected to win but even they had to get lucky to even make it to the Series, getting by a Houston team in startling fashion. They won it all only after an easy ground ball got by a first baseman who had manned his position very adequately until that very moment. His name is legend, of course, and Bill Buckner will always be remembered in baseball lore because of it.
Yeah, I know….what about the Phillies? Well, what about them? Pitching, pitching and more pitching is what they have. But I tell you to ask any fantasy player about the reliability of pitching, especially those coming off a big year, a year in which those arms gobbled up a lot of innings.
Let’s take a closer look. Halladay will be 34 in May. In his last five years, he’s thrown way over 200 innings each year, and last year he threw an incredible 250 innings. It’s a similar story for Cliff Lee whose innings pitched for the last three years have been at around 220. He’ll be 33 in August. Roy Oswalt will be 34 in August. He’s been a horse too over the years but ask any horseman about the dependability of horses.
Cole Hamels is their number 4 pitcher and he’s younger than the big three at 27 but also logged over 200 innings last year. But, for anyone with any memory of 2009, fragility thy name is Hamels. Surely he could be good this year, but then again so could Mike Pelfrey.
Their number 5 Blanton isn’t in the same class as the others but is still a pretty fair arm, but his ERA last year was 4.82. Kyle Kendrick is listed in the Phils depth chart as a number 6 starter who sported a 4.73 ERA in 2010, not too shabby but not too far removed from average either.
An injury to any one of the big three (and to put Oswalt in the same class as Lee and Halladay is sort of specious to begin with) puts the Phillies well within striking distance. And, even discounting the possibility of injury, what about a good guy just having a bad year? It happens all the time. Ask Jason Bay.
And what about just having bad luck on the mound? Ask Johan Santana about that. Santana had more no-decisions and losses last year than just about any hurler in the league, never mind one who sported an ERA under 3.00.
An injury, some bad luck, a loss of form (ask A.J. Burnett about that), or some bad luck brings the Phils right back to the pack. And it’s a pretty good pack of pitchers in New York. Pelfrey’s ERA was 3.66 and he went 15-9 despite one truly bad month. Niese was at 4.20, Dickey was at 2.84 and had almost as bad luck as Santana when it came down to runs scored for him.
The probable number 4 pitcher will be Chris Young, still a relative youngster in terms of innings pitched but a solid veteran nevertheless with a career ERA of 3.66. Dillon Gee is an unknown quantity at Number 5 but did manage to sport a 2.18 ERA in limited action last year. Pat Misch is a possible number 6 and managed a 3.82 ERA in limited action as a starter and reliever.
The numbers aren’t all that bad. If the pitching holds up, as it did all last year, the Mets could be formidable this year. They’ll almost undoubtedly score a lot more runs. With Beltran returning and Reyes playing more games, with Wright just being himself and Bay returning to form, the Mets have at least four very dangerous guys in the lineup.
And that’s not even counting centerfielder Pagan, Ike Davis and Josh Thole, the first baseman and catcher respectively, who figure to improve off some pretty fair results last year.
Jose Reyes could have a monster year. He lights up at the mere mention of his upcoming free agency. Wright could too after bouncing back last year from his disastrous 2009. With Beltran back, opponents will have to pitch to David.
The team with no money and no pitching but with a solid lineup, good team speed and a sound defense could just go a long way. Ask Tug McGraw.
Imagine…Imagine a team with broke owners and no bigtime pitchers going on to win 90 games to eke out a playoff spot. Imagine a team that’s close at the All-Star break being lifted by the return of its star pitcher from injury.
Imagine a team whose second-year guys play like seasoned veterans. Imagine a team whose bargain- basement pitching acquisitions go on to win 30 games. Imagine a team whose hard-luck pitchers of the year before suddenly start to win the games they lost the previous year.
Imagine a healthy Jose Reyes in his contract year stealing 60 bases and scoring 130 runs. Imagine a Carlos Beltran limping along to get big hit after big hit in key spots down the stretch. Imagine a Jason Bay totally turning around his miserable performance of his first year in New York.
Yeah, I know. That’s a lot of imagining. But why not us? Maybe the bad luck has gone the way of Omar and Jerry. Maybe the Mets will be as lucky as their owners are not. Maybe this season will be the lucky one, the rabbit’s foot year.
Ya gotta believe. Tug McGraw had it right.
I was in the stands for Games 2 and 5 of the 1969 World Series. The Mets beat the Orioles in five games. But that team wasn’t expected to win. Their lineup was pretty suspect. Their pitchers were young, even if they had names like Seaver and Koosman and Gentry et al.
That ’86 team was expected to win but even they had to get lucky to even make it to the Series, getting by a Houston team in startling fashion. They won it all only after an easy ground ball got by a first baseman who had manned his position very adequately until that very moment. His name is legend, of course, and Bill Buckner will always be remembered in baseball lore because of it.
Yeah, I know….what about the Phillies? Well, what about them? Pitching, pitching and more pitching is what they have. But I tell you to ask any fantasy player about the reliability of pitching, especially those coming off a big year, a year in which those arms gobbled up a lot of innings.
Let’s take a closer look. Halladay will be 34 in May. In his last five years, he’s thrown way over 200 innings each year, and last year he threw an incredible 250 innings. It’s a similar story for Cliff Lee whose innings pitched for the last three years have been at around 220. He’ll be 33 in August. Roy Oswalt will be 34 in August. He’s been a horse too over the years but ask any horseman about the dependability of horses.
Cole Hamels is their number 4 pitcher and he’s younger than the big three at 27 but also logged over 200 innings last year. But, for anyone with any memory of 2009, fragility thy name is Hamels. Surely he could be good this year, but then again so could Mike Pelfrey.
Their number 5 Blanton isn’t in the same class as the others but is still a pretty fair arm, but his ERA last year was 4.82. Kyle Kendrick is listed in the Phils depth chart as a number 6 starter who sported a 4.73 ERA in 2010, not too shabby but not too far removed from average either.
An injury to any one of the big three (and to put Oswalt in the same class as Lee and Halladay is sort of specious to begin with) puts the Phillies well within striking distance. And, even discounting the possibility of injury, what about a good guy just having a bad year? It happens all the time. Ask Jason Bay.
And what about just having bad luck on the mound? Ask Johan Santana about that. Santana had more no-decisions and losses last year than just about any hurler in the league, never mind one who sported an ERA under 3.00.
An injury, some bad luck, a loss of form (ask A.J. Burnett about that), or some bad luck brings the Phils right back to the pack. And it’s a pretty good pack of pitchers in New York. Pelfrey’s ERA was 3.66 and he went 15-9 despite one truly bad month. Niese was at 4.20, Dickey was at 2.84 and had almost as bad luck as Santana when it came down to runs scored for him.
The probable number 4 pitcher will be Chris Young, still a relative youngster in terms of innings pitched but a solid veteran nevertheless with a career ERA of 3.66. Dillon Gee is an unknown quantity at Number 5 but did manage to sport a 2.18 ERA in limited action last year. Pat Misch is a possible number 6 and managed a 3.82 ERA in limited action as a starter and reliever.
The numbers aren’t all that bad. If the pitching holds up, as it did all last year, the Mets could be formidable this year. They’ll almost undoubtedly score a lot more runs. With Beltran returning and Reyes playing more games, with Wright just being himself and Bay returning to form, the Mets have at least four very dangerous guys in the lineup.
And that’s not even counting centerfielder Pagan, Ike Davis and Josh Thole, the first baseman and catcher respectively, who figure to improve off some pretty fair results last year.
Jose Reyes could have a monster year. He lights up at the mere mention of his upcoming free agency. Wright could too after bouncing back last year from his disastrous 2009. With Beltran back, opponents will have to pitch to David.
The team with no money and no pitching but with a solid lineup, good team speed and a sound defense could just go a long way. Ask Tug McGraw.
Friday, September 10, 2010
More On Mets (Get It?)
Okay, you’re expecting some Mets news here so here it is…..the Mets still stink. They are a little more fun to watch though. And taking 2 of 3 from Washington sure beats losing another series. Of course, it hardly matters now.
Thank God they’re not still pretending to contend. Now we can watch all the rejects in their farm system. Of course, the new guys are outperforming anything the regulars ever put together. So what does that tell us?
Bad things can happen when a team sits on its laurels, watching every significant deadline for adding players go by with barely a twitch. A flower grows way faster than the Mets moved this year.
Of course, that can only mean the ownership, aka Jeff Wilpon, has totally lost faith in the general manager. At this point, that can only be a good thing. Omar Minaya is a personable fellow but he hasn’t done much towards fashioning a championship team. I think a break is needed for Mr. Minaya. Have you ever considered fishing, Omar?
Let’s recap, 2006 was a tough year, 2007 was even tougher, 2008 was incredibly bad, 2009 was a hard luck year and 2010 has been another tough year. Hmmm, not good. There are a lot of teams that have done more with less.
Minaya does have time left on his contract though. If Wilpon hasn’t been in a spending mode, to say the very least, he may not jump at the idea of firing Minaya, who he seems to like despite his failures. There are some signs though that the two of them are already planning for next year, even if Minaya may not be the ultimate recipient of the benefits of the plan.
Here’s my take on the Beltran, Perez and Castillo flap (they didn’t attend a hospital team visit). Wilpon is greasing the skids for getting rid of all of them. If he can turn the fans against these guys, principally Beltran as it’d be difficult to suggest any Mets fans like crazy selfish Ollie or poor picked-on Luis Castillo, it’ll be easier to trade him for a lesser player, and let’s face it, these are the Mets, they’ll inevitably make a bad deal.
I’ve put my request in for a second baseman. I think this Tejada little guy is really slick with the glove, and I like watching him in the field, but he’s really got to show me something the rest of the way. I hope he does. If you’re going to have a weak spot in the lineup, it may as well be at second base.
Some team will want Beltran though, especially if they can negotiate a lesser rate for his services. Carlos Beltran, minus the attitude, would be a hell of an asset for any team. He’s still the most feared batter in the Mets lineup. Of course, that’s saying very little.
It’s fun to speculate though. The Mets could use a pitcher for sure, even if Dickey and Niese continue their winning ways. Who knows what Mike Pelfrey can do going forward? Not even Mike could tell you. But he is a hard-throwing right hander, as is the new kid Mejia. They probably mix things up pretty well for the two left-handers, Santana and Niese, and then of course, there’s the knuckleballer Dickey, who doesn’t even resemble other knuckleballers!
The Mets aren’t that far off really from some respectability. The bullpen isn’t really that bad with Takahashi and Purcell and perpetual Pedro out there. You can have the other two guys. So they need a couple of relievers on the pitching side of things.
On the hitting side of the ledger, the current depth chart shows a left field of Lucas Duda and Chris Carter, a ridiculously weak spot. Carter’s a pinch-hitter. Who knows about Duda? But Jason Bay will be back and maybe he’ll return to some semblance of a power hitter. In center, there’s Beltran or his replacement, In right field there is Pagan, not too shabby.
Then there will be an infield of Ike Davis at first, Tejada at second, Reyes at short and David Wright at third base. Davis will hit better next year for sure and he hasn’t been so very bad this year either. I don’t care for his backup though, this Hessman fellow. A nice big guy who can hit for power would be a nice addition.
It looks as if Josh Thole is a keeper at the catcher position too. He seems to be a tough out when the pressure is on. The Mets don’t have a lot of talent in that area….that’s for sure. Maybe Beltran’s replacement can at least be a guy with good stats for hitting with runners in scoring position. And maybe Bay will start pulling his weight.
The Mets could use a good utility guy in the infield too, a Ryan Theriot type guy who can play second base or shortstop. Even better would be a power-hitting second baseman/shortstop, even one that would just backup Tejada on one of his prolonged slumps, or one of Reyes’s prolonged injuries. How about Theriot and that magnificent Jose Uribe?
When you think about it, what makes the difference between the Mets and the Padres right now? And the Padres, despite their recent slump, may still outlast everybody else in the NL West. The Phillies and the Braves, though, would still be the class of the division unless Bay and Pagan and Wright and Reyes and even Ike Davis all hit and play to their capabilities.
Okay, enough about the Mets. It is, after all, football season. The Giants open up against the Panthers. They’ll lose, but by a less embarrassing score than last year, when the Panthers killed them 41-9 in the last game played at the old Giants Stadium. Look for Carolina to take the opener, but only by a 27-24 score.
Those crazy Jets finally signed Revis. But that doesn’t mean they’ll win Monday. Ravens 17-13.
Thank God they’re not still pretending to contend. Now we can watch all the rejects in their farm system. Of course, the new guys are outperforming anything the regulars ever put together. So what does that tell us?
Bad things can happen when a team sits on its laurels, watching every significant deadline for adding players go by with barely a twitch. A flower grows way faster than the Mets moved this year.
Of course, that can only mean the ownership, aka Jeff Wilpon, has totally lost faith in the general manager. At this point, that can only be a good thing. Omar Minaya is a personable fellow but he hasn’t done much towards fashioning a championship team. I think a break is needed for Mr. Minaya. Have you ever considered fishing, Omar?
Let’s recap, 2006 was a tough year, 2007 was even tougher, 2008 was incredibly bad, 2009 was a hard luck year and 2010 has been another tough year. Hmmm, not good. There are a lot of teams that have done more with less.
Minaya does have time left on his contract though. If Wilpon hasn’t been in a spending mode, to say the very least, he may not jump at the idea of firing Minaya, who he seems to like despite his failures. There are some signs though that the two of them are already planning for next year, even if Minaya may not be the ultimate recipient of the benefits of the plan.
Here’s my take on the Beltran, Perez and Castillo flap (they didn’t attend a hospital team visit). Wilpon is greasing the skids for getting rid of all of them. If he can turn the fans against these guys, principally Beltran as it’d be difficult to suggest any Mets fans like crazy selfish Ollie or poor picked-on Luis Castillo, it’ll be easier to trade him for a lesser player, and let’s face it, these are the Mets, they’ll inevitably make a bad deal.
I’ve put my request in for a second baseman. I think this Tejada little guy is really slick with the glove, and I like watching him in the field, but he’s really got to show me something the rest of the way. I hope he does. If you’re going to have a weak spot in the lineup, it may as well be at second base.
Some team will want Beltran though, especially if they can negotiate a lesser rate for his services. Carlos Beltran, minus the attitude, would be a hell of an asset for any team. He’s still the most feared batter in the Mets lineup. Of course, that’s saying very little.
It’s fun to speculate though. The Mets could use a pitcher for sure, even if Dickey and Niese continue their winning ways. Who knows what Mike Pelfrey can do going forward? Not even Mike could tell you. But he is a hard-throwing right hander, as is the new kid Mejia. They probably mix things up pretty well for the two left-handers, Santana and Niese, and then of course, there’s the knuckleballer Dickey, who doesn’t even resemble other knuckleballers!
The Mets aren’t that far off really from some respectability. The bullpen isn’t really that bad with Takahashi and Purcell and perpetual Pedro out there. You can have the other two guys. So they need a couple of relievers on the pitching side of things.
On the hitting side of the ledger, the current depth chart shows a left field of Lucas Duda and Chris Carter, a ridiculously weak spot. Carter’s a pinch-hitter. Who knows about Duda? But Jason Bay will be back and maybe he’ll return to some semblance of a power hitter. In center, there’s Beltran or his replacement, In right field there is Pagan, not too shabby.
Then there will be an infield of Ike Davis at first, Tejada at second, Reyes at short and David Wright at third base. Davis will hit better next year for sure and he hasn’t been so very bad this year either. I don’t care for his backup though, this Hessman fellow. A nice big guy who can hit for power would be a nice addition.
It looks as if Josh Thole is a keeper at the catcher position too. He seems to be a tough out when the pressure is on. The Mets don’t have a lot of talent in that area….that’s for sure. Maybe Beltran’s replacement can at least be a guy with good stats for hitting with runners in scoring position. And maybe Bay will start pulling his weight.
The Mets could use a good utility guy in the infield too, a Ryan Theriot type guy who can play second base or shortstop. Even better would be a power-hitting second baseman/shortstop, even one that would just backup Tejada on one of his prolonged slumps, or one of Reyes’s prolonged injuries. How about Theriot and that magnificent Jose Uribe?
When you think about it, what makes the difference between the Mets and the Padres right now? And the Padres, despite their recent slump, may still outlast everybody else in the NL West. The Phillies and the Braves, though, would still be the class of the division unless Bay and Pagan and Wright and Reyes and even Ike Davis all hit and play to their capabilities.
Okay, enough about the Mets. It is, after all, football season. The Giants open up against the Panthers. They’ll lose, but by a less embarrassing score than last year, when the Panthers killed them 41-9 in the last game played at the old Giants Stadium. Look for Carolina to take the opener, but only by a 27-24 score.
Those crazy Jets finally signed Revis. But that doesn’t mean they’ll win Monday. Ravens 17-13.
Monday, August 23, 2010
A Second Baseman for Beltran?
Okay, so the Mets are still stinkin’ up the joint. Santana should’ve pitched a perfect game if he wanted to really win, so he’s got no one to blame but himself. Yeah, it was Pittsburgh and anyone would think somebody on that sorry Mets roster could hit a Pirates pitcher, even a promising one like Zach Duke.
But these are the Mets, featuring Carlos Beltran, who couldn’t be bothered to try to steal second when down a run in that late inning, I forget which, it’s not important. What is important is that he just stayed there. Yeah, I know, you go for the win on the road, yada yada, Jerry goes with the book all the time, and it says you don’t go for the tie on the road.
Screw that! Screw Beltran and screw Manuel and his book. This is supposed to be a team that feels it’s still in the race. This is a team that needs to scratch for runs. But if it’s best player is going to lollygag there on first base when the team desperately needs to score, why should anybody else do anything?
This is one sorry situation. Dump Beltran. I’m tired of this. Somebody’ll take him off our hands. And he’ll play great for them, no doubt, but he won’t play hard for these guys, Minaya and Manuel. And since those two are the management right now, and possibly into the future, let’s start thinking about what kind of player we want in his place.
What do we need? Let’s see….
A relief pitcher would be nice but that’s not the biggest problem right now. Geez, we could use a second baseman, especially if Castillo is going to go away. I’m willing to give Ike Davis another year at first base. I know he’s not absolutely killing the ball but he’s a player and it’s just his first year in the majors. That guy could become a star.
There’s Reyes at short, he’s a keeper as much as he drives everybody crazy. Then there’s sorry-butt Wright who tries to play third most of the time. In the outfield there is Bay, or will be, in left field once he gets his head right, and Pagan could play center and Francoeur, who’s beginning to try to have better at-bats at least, in right field. He’ll do for now.
Thole looks like a keeper at catcher and Blanco can back him up, that’s not optimal but Thole has done some things that show promise, a lot like Mr. Davis on first.
The starting pitching has been amazing, all things considered….Santana, Dickey, Niese, Pelfrey and take your pick, either Takahashi or Misch.
But we need a second baseman. Ruben Tejada is not the answer. Let’s take a look at what’s available. And who might need a centerfielder like Beltran when he’s playing hard, the way he used to when he was a happy camper.
First, let’s eliminate some. Cano, sure, he would ever play for the Mets, then there’s Prado in Atlanta, a hell of a player, and Phillips in Cinci. I don’t think the White Sox would part with Alexei Ramirez either. Polanco in Philly is getting older so might be available but that would be like bringing in another Castillo, only better. I can’t really see the Brewers getting rid of McGehee either, too much power, the same is probably true for Dan Uggla.
There could be some other untouchables too, like Pedroia for example, but consider that we’d be offering up Carlos Beltran.
I know everybody seemed to want Orlando Hudson. Whether Mr. Hudson agrees is my question, and that’s assuming the Twins would part with him. Their centerfielder is Denard Span though, and he’s pretty good, but doesn’t have much power. Beltran would be an upgrade but probably an upgrade not really required. The Twins have Morneau and Mauer already, and Kubel so…….forget Hudson.
Kelly Johnson in Arizona is a very nice player, good hitter, but the DBacks have Chris Young in center. But, looking over in their left field, there is only Gerardo Parra. There’s a possible deal in the making. The DBacks could use an experienced player like Beltran to round out the youth in Young and Justin Upton in right.
The White Sox have an interesting situation with infielders. In addition to Alexei Ramirez, who actually plays short most of the time, they have both Gordon Beckham and a youngster named Brent Lillibridge who has some good numbers in limited at-bats. As streaky as Beckham had been, they might consider a move for a Beltran. Their outfielders are Alex Rios, Carlos Ruiz and Juan Pierre. Juan Pierre especially could probably be replaced. I’d love to get Beckham. But Lillibridge too is an intriguing possibility.
The Rockies have Clint Barmes manning the keystone sack and have a nice guy at third base in Ian Stewart, who can also play second base. Stewart is backed up by Melvin Mora, an experienced hitter. I’d be interested in either Barmes or Stewart. The Rockies need help in the outfield. Seth Smith plays left and Ryan Spilborghs plays right field for them. Neither inspires any fear in opponents.
Stewart’s batting .267 but has belted 17 homers, with a goodly number of runs and rbi’s. Barmes isn’t the hitter Stewart is but plays hard all the time and adds to a lineup, at the very least. Luis Castillo can back him up but he won’t be around forever….or will he?
How about Rickie Weeks from Milwaukee? That would be a coup. The Brewers outfield could definitely use a Carlos Beltran. Although they are solid in left with Ryan Braun, their centerfielder is Lorenzo Cain. Their right fielder is Cory Hart. Maybe Beltran would be just what the Brewers need. Rickie Weeks is batting .274 with runs and rbi’s in the 80’s and 70’s respectively. That would be a pretty even trade, Weeks for Beltran, especially if the Mets picked up some of his salary.
I never thought I'd be happy to see Beltran leaving.
But these are the Mets, featuring Carlos Beltran, who couldn’t be bothered to try to steal second when down a run in that late inning, I forget which, it’s not important. What is important is that he just stayed there. Yeah, I know, you go for the win on the road, yada yada, Jerry goes with the book all the time, and it says you don’t go for the tie on the road.
Screw that! Screw Beltran and screw Manuel and his book. This is supposed to be a team that feels it’s still in the race. This is a team that needs to scratch for runs. But if it’s best player is going to lollygag there on first base when the team desperately needs to score, why should anybody else do anything?
This is one sorry situation. Dump Beltran. I’m tired of this. Somebody’ll take him off our hands. And he’ll play great for them, no doubt, but he won’t play hard for these guys, Minaya and Manuel. And since those two are the management right now, and possibly into the future, let’s start thinking about what kind of player we want in his place.
What do we need? Let’s see….
A relief pitcher would be nice but that’s not the biggest problem right now. Geez, we could use a second baseman, especially if Castillo is going to go away. I’m willing to give Ike Davis another year at first base. I know he’s not absolutely killing the ball but he’s a player and it’s just his first year in the majors. That guy could become a star.
There’s Reyes at short, he’s a keeper as much as he drives everybody crazy. Then there’s sorry-butt Wright who tries to play third most of the time. In the outfield there is Bay, or will be, in left field once he gets his head right, and Pagan could play center and Francoeur, who’s beginning to try to have better at-bats at least, in right field. He’ll do for now.
Thole looks like a keeper at catcher and Blanco can back him up, that’s not optimal but Thole has done some things that show promise, a lot like Mr. Davis on first.
The starting pitching has been amazing, all things considered….Santana, Dickey, Niese, Pelfrey and take your pick, either Takahashi or Misch.
But we need a second baseman. Ruben Tejada is not the answer. Let’s take a look at what’s available. And who might need a centerfielder like Beltran when he’s playing hard, the way he used to when he was a happy camper.
First, let’s eliminate some. Cano, sure, he would ever play for the Mets, then there’s Prado in Atlanta, a hell of a player, and Phillips in Cinci. I don’t think the White Sox would part with Alexei Ramirez either. Polanco in Philly is getting older so might be available but that would be like bringing in another Castillo, only better. I can’t really see the Brewers getting rid of McGehee either, too much power, the same is probably true for Dan Uggla.
There could be some other untouchables too, like Pedroia for example, but consider that we’d be offering up Carlos Beltran.
I know everybody seemed to want Orlando Hudson. Whether Mr. Hudson agrees is my question, and that’s assuming the Twins would part with him. Their centerfielder is Denard Span though, and he’s pretty good, but doesn’t have much power. Beltran would be an upgrade but probably an upgrade not really required. The Twins have Morneau and Mauer already, and Kubel so…….forget Hudson.
Kelly Johnson in Arizona is a very nice player, good hitter, but the DBacks have Chris Young in center. But, looking over in their left field, there is only Gerardo Parra. There’s a possible deal in the making. The DBacks could use an experienced player like Beltran to round out the youth in Young and Justin Upton in right.
The White Sox have an interesting situation with infielders. In addition to Alexei Ramirez, who actually plays short most of the time, they have both Gordon Beckham and a youngster named Brent Lillibridge who has some good numbers in limited at-bats. As streaky as Beckham had been, they might consider a move for a Beltran. Their outfielders are Alex Rios, Carlos Ruiz and Juan Pierre. Juan Pierre especially could probably be replaced. I’d love to get Beckham. But Lillibridge too is an intriguing possibility.
The Rockies have Clint Barmes manning the keystone sack and have a nice guy at third base in Ian Stewart, who can also play second base. Stewart is backed up by Melvin Mora, an experienced hitter. I’d be interested in either Barmes or Stewart. The Rockies need help in the outfield. Seth Smith plays left and Ryan Spilborghs plays right field for them. Neither inspires any fear in opponents.
Stewart’s batting .267 but has belted 17 homers, with a goodly number of runs and rbi’s. Barmes isn’t the hitter Stewart is but plays hard all the time and adds to a lineup, at the very least. Luis Castillo can back him up but he won’t be around forever….or will he?
How about Rickie Weeks from Milwaukee? That would be a coup. The Brewers outfield could definitely use a Carlos Beltran. Although they are solid in left with Ryan Braun, their centerfielder is Lorenzo Cain. Their right fielder is Cory Hart. Maybe Beltran would be just what the Brewers need. Rickie Weeks is batting .274 with runs and rbi’s in the 80’s and 70’s respectively. That would be a pretty even trade, Weeks for Beltran, especially if the Mets picked up some of his salary.
I never thought I'd be happy to see Beltran leaving.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Beyond the Croaaroads
The Mets are scary bad. And the worst of it is that the guys who need to perform the best when it counts wind up doing the worst. I’m talking about Jose Reyes and David Wright especially but even Mike Pelfrey could qualify, depending upon your point of view.
Reyes was dreadful at shortstop. Wright was horrendous at third. (I know, I’m struggling for adjectives for bloody awful or, in Italian, “disgraziada”. Pelfrey hasn’t shown much for quite some time now but I was sure hoping it was a temporary thing, his lack of any stuff that can get outs.
So I’ve finally come down to earth. The Mets have some talent but they spit the bit when it counts, when the game is on the line. And you could say it was just one of those things, it was Atlanta where bad things always seem to haunt the Mets. But there is a pattern of failure among these “core” Mets. I miss Delgado….the Mets miss Delgado.
Delgado used to perform in the clutch, Delgado and his silly little notebook, recording the details of every single at-bat, scowling at his failures and lighting up the stadium with that wide smile of his….yeah, I think the Mets miss him too.
The most prestigious batter is now Beltran, Beltran, who hit all those homers for Houston way back before the Mets signed him, Beltran who could play center in his sleep, always gliding, moving fast but not really seeming to, and bangin’ the ball around the yard with pretty good regularity.
But there is that at-bat against Wainwright in his history too. And he was part of the collapses that mark this franchise. And let’s not forget his penchant for trying to steal third all the time, at the worst times, and almost always failing to do so.
Beltran went hitless yesterday. He’s now batting .215. You can’t really lead with numbers like that. He’ll come on eventually, it is to be hoped, but it’ll be too late. And I’m not even trying to pick on Beltran. But the Mets needed something last night.
The best player for the Mets yesterday was Luis Castillo. He managed 2 of the 6 hits they got and didn’t make any critical errors, as did Wright and Reyes twice. Josh Thole, the new catcher, got a big hit in a big situation. That’s just two of the eight positions in the lineup though.
Everybody picks on Castillo. I even belittled him mercilessly when he dropped that third out popup by Arod last year. And maybe he doesn’t have the range that you’d like to see. But he’s a pretty nifty second baseman more often than not. He’s usually doing the right thing at the right time, something you can’t really say about Reyes, most notably, but also Wright and Beltran.
The future of this franchise looks good though. Ike Davis, for example, has been remarkably clutch this year despite his miscue last night. Josh Thole looks very promising at the all-important catcher position. And they look to be guys who’ll lift their game when it counts.
But, for now, it’s just Reyes and Wright and Beltran. Jason Bay is hiding out somewhere and I don’t think any of the Mets are sorry about that. He almost never delivered of his promise either. He wasn’t the spectacular failure of an Ollie Perez but he was more of a quietly consistent one. And his DL stint makes it easier to field 3 pretty good outfielders. That’s assuming Francoeur is good, of course, but he’s dangerous only if he gets a fastball over the plate. Great arm though.
As a team, these guys just don’t measure up. When the chips are down, when they find themselves in Atlanta or Philadelphia or Florida, or when they’re playing another determined team, they come out second best.
When your stars fold up their tents, when they keep swinging over any pitch that breaks, when they fail to make the big double play because they don’t feel like making that tough throw to first with a guy in their face, when they make side-arm throws that go astray or make throws without setting themselves because it looks so good when it works, that’s when the game is over.
Much as the game was over last night. Maybe they just don’t like Takahashi. God knows that Japanese fellow was trying his best. But his teammates let him down, time after time after time. It became difficult to watch. It was that ugly.
I’d sit Reyes for a while. He looks like a guy who’s tired, who’s not having fun, who’s a little tired of playing the game. Wright was never a slick third baseman but it seems to me that he’s getting worse. I’d sit him more often. But there isn’t even a backup for third base on the roster, as unbelievable as that might seem.
I’ll be looking to the future now. I’m guessing Omar Minaya will be gone and I suppose the broom, when it comes on by, will take Jerry Manuel right along with him. That move seems inevitable, although the GM Minaya has a couple of years left on his contract. If the 16 mill Ollie Perez situation doesn’t take him out, it’ll be the 16 mill Jason Bay mistake.
I think some trades of any of these “core” guys are warranted. There have just been too many failures. I would trade Reyes in a minute. He doesn’t even steal bases anymore. Then I’d look to unload Bay and then Beltran. They’d have to be more successful somewhere else. I’d trade them while their residual value is still pretty high. Bay’s fortunes especially could reasonably be expected to soar in another city. Boston comes immediately to mind.
The Mets are beyond the crossroads. There have been several of them actually. The Mets missed the right path every time. It’ll be no different in Philadelphia.
The Mets need a drastic change.
Reyes was dreadful at shortstop. Wright was horrendous at third. (I know, I’m struggling for adjectives for bloody awful or, in Italian, “disgraziada”. Pelfrey hasn’t shown much for quite some time now but I was sure hoping it was a temporary thing, his lack of any stuff that can get outs.
So I’ve finally come down to earth. The Mets have some talent but they spit the bit when it counts, when the game is on the line. And you could say it was just one of those things, it was Atlanta where bad things always seem to haunt the Mets. But there is a pattern of failure among these “core” Mets. I miss Delgado….the Mets miss Delgado.
Delgado used to perform in the clutch, Delgado and his silly little notebook, recording the details of every single at-bat, scowling at his failures and lighting up the stadium with that wide smile of his….yeah, I think the Mets miss him too.
The most prestigious batter is now Beltran, Beltran, who hit all those homers for Houston way back before the Mets signed him, Beltran who could play center in his sleep, always gliding, moving fast but not really seeming to, and bangin’ the ball around the yard with pretty good regularity.
But there is that at-bat against Wainwright in his history too. And he was part of the collapses that mark this franchise. And let’s not forget his penchant for trying to steal third all the time, at the worst times, and almost always failing to do so.
Beltran went hitless yesterday. He’s now batting .215. You can’t really lead with numbers like that. He’ll come on eventually, it is to be hoped, but it’ll be too late. And I’m not even trying to pick on Beltran. But the Mets needed something last night.
The best player for the Mets yesterday was Luis Castillo. He managed 2 of the 6 hits they got and didn’t make any critical errors, as did Wright and Reyes twice. Josh Thole, the new catcher, got a big hit in a big situation. That’s just two of the eight positions in the lineup though.
Everybody picks on Castillo. I even belittled him mercilessly when he dropped that third out popup by Arod last year. And maybe he doesn’t have the range that you’d like to see. But he’s a pretty nifty second baseman more often than not. He’s usually doing the right thing at the right time, something you can’t really say about Reyes, most notably, but also Wright and Beltran.
The future of this franchise looks good though. Ike Davis, for example, has been remarkably clutch this year despite his miscue last night. Josh Thole looks very promising at the all-important catcher position. And they look to be guys who’ll lift their game when it counts.
But, for now, it’s just Reyes and Wright and Beltran. Jason Bay is hiding out somewhere and I don’t think any of the Mets are sorry about that. He almost never delivered of his promise either. He wasn’t the spectacular failure of an Ollie Perez but he was more of a quietly consistent one. And his DL stint makes it easier to field 3 pretty good outfielders. That’s assuming Francoeur is good, of course, but he’s dangerous only if he gets a fastball over the plate. Great arm though.
As a team, these guys just don’t measure up. When the chips are down, when they find themselves in Atlanta or Philadelphia or Florida, or when they’re playing another determined team, they come out second best.
When your stars fold up their tents, when they keep swinging over any pitch that breaks, when they fail to make the big double play because they don’t feel like making that tough throw to first with a guy in their face, when they make side-arm throws that go astray or make throws without setting themselves because it looks so good when it works, that’s when the game is over.
Much as the game was over last night. Maybe they just don’t like Takahashi. God knows that Japanese fellow was trying his best. But his teammates let him down, time after time after time. It became difficult to watch. It was that ugly.
I’d sit Reyes for a while. He looks like a guy who’s tired, who’s not having fun, who’s a little tired of playing the game. Wright was never a slick third baseman but it seems to me that he’s getting worse. I’d sit him more often. But there isn’t even a backup for third base on the roster, as unbelievable as that might seem.
I’ll be looking to the future now. I’m guessing Omar Minaya will be gone and I suppose the broom, when it comes on by, will take Jerry Manuel right along with him. That move seems inevitable, although the GM Minaya has a couple of years left on his contract. If the 16 mill Ollie Perez situation doesn’t take him out, it’ll be the 16 mill Jason Bay mistake.
I think some trades of any of these “core” guys are warranted. There have just been too many failures. I would trade Reyes in a minute. He doesn’t even steal bases anymore. Then I’d look to unload Bay and then Beltran. They’d have to be more successful somewhere else. I’d trade them while their residual value is still pretty high. Bay’s fortunes especially could reasonably be expected to soar in another city. Boston comes immediately to mind.
The Mets are beyond the crossroads. There have been several of them actually. The Mets missed the right path every time. It’ll be no different in Philadelphia.
The Mets need a drastic change.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Winning at What Cost?
How strange that I should feel tongue-tied. George Steinbrenner is dead. The National League finally won an All-Star Game. The second half is starting in baseball, and Carlos Beltran, heretofore my favorite Mets player, is coming back.
So many thoughts go through my mind, some of them not even coherent, especially with respect to Steinbrenner and Beltran.
We’ve heard, over and over, “all George cared about was winning, he was all about winning,” while acknowledging that he was a sonova bitch, usually followed by a story about some anonymous contribution that everybody seems to know about. I’ve seen sportswriters wax poetic and get tearry-eyed because he remembered their name.
When Steinbrenner came into baseball, I thought he was a jerk. Most people did. He didn’t do anything unless it was stupid. Later on, when he finally stepped back a bit to let baseball people run his club, he made sure to get his face and name back in the papers, usually by doing something outlandish and petty, something brash and mean and arrogant.
I’m sorry the man died, I truly am, and sorrier still that he was apparently gravely ill before his heart finally gave way. But I never liked him. I was sorry Yogi and he got back together. And I don’t think he should be in the Hall of Fame, not that that’s even all that important.
If I were ever a Yankee fan, I’d probably feel much different. But I was never a Yankee fan. It goes against my nature. I’m one of those champions of the underdog…always have been. And that is why I became a Mets fan, after having been a Dodgers fan before that.
I don’t believe in winning at all costs. Yankee fans do. George Steinbrenner certainly did. His every action was self-serving, at least his public actions. And self-serving meant Yankee-serving by definition. So I can understand Yankee fans liking him, even loving him. And that may be the only thing I’ll ever understand about Yankee fans, that, and their win at all costs philosophy.
If George had bought the Mets, and ran the Mets the way he ran the Yankees, I’d have become another team’s fan, probably a team like the Phillies or Boston, but not the Cubs or Kansas City. My team would have to care passionately about winning, but not at all costs.
There are examples of the Yankee avarice too numerous to mention but the most recent and heinous example was their attempted acquisition of Cliff Lee. The Yanks have Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett, Vazquez and Hughes. That’s five very fine starters. That should be enough.
For anyone who cares about competitiveness, the Yankees were already loaded. They didn’t need Cliff Lee. But the Yankees don’t care about the rest of baseball. They only care about the Yankees, their storied history, their hallowed stadium, their rings, their monuments and on and on.
The Yankees tried to guarantee their World Series win. It wasn’t enough to have Arod and Jeter and Teixeira and Cano, Posada and even Swisher, and all those pitchers. That wasn’t enough surety for the Evil Empire. For Yankee management and fans, what fun is there in watching a good baseball game?
All of that now brings me to Carlos Beltran. Carlos was out of the game for most of last season and most of this season with a bone bruise of the knee. Not that I don’t believe he was really hurt. I do. But I know there are probably contract issues that entered into the situation.
Beltran has it made in the shade, if he can find any of that in Flushing. The Mets are 4 games out, have a nice pitching staff, some good young players and, as he will still be considered as recovering, there are no outlandish expectations of him. As he always has been a great player though, we can expect that he will provide some big hits, make some nice catches, and, in most respects, be Carlos Beltran. But he won’t be expected to carry the club.
What annoys me most is that he’ll be playing at someone else’s expense. In every case, that someone else has been a key player for the Mets this year, whether it’s Francoeur, Pagan or Jason Bay.
Once again, that brings me to my point about winning at any cost. As good as Beltran has been, I’d like to see him earn his way back into the lineup. But that won’t happen, it can’t really happen, it probably shouldn’t happen, as winning certainly takes precedence over some bruised feelings.
But it doesn’t go down easy for me as a Mets fan. This Mets club seems well-knit as a team. So I worry about chemistry. But I also enjoy watching every one of those outfielders, especially Francoeur and Pagan. From my standpoint, I’d rather see Bay sit.
But, for the same reasons as Beltran must play, Bay must play. It’s that crazy but true axiom in baseball that says players eventually find their level. It’s very often true. As hard as it may be for me to believe right now, the axiom says that Jason Bay will get hot, or even torrid. And Carlos Beltran will eventually hit .300, drive in 100 runs and score a hundred times in a full season.
But it’s those exceptions to the rule that grate the most on a fan’s patience and compassion. David Wright had his worst year by far last year. His power just disappeared and never came back. Recall the lean times of Carlos Delgado in years past before he went absolutely crazy at the plate to carry the club seemingly all by himself for about six weeks.
Mets fans have to hope for the best, that a club that finishes 4 games out at the half, with Francoeur and Pagan, can finish first at season’s end with Carlos Beltran, all other things being equal (which in and of itself is saying a mouthful).
Go Carlos!!
So many thoughts go through my mind, some of them not even coherent, especially with respect to Steinbrenner and Beltran.
We’ve heard, over and over, “all George cared about was winning, he was all about winning,” while acknowledging that he was a sonova bitch, usually followed by a story about some anonymous contribution that everybody seems to know about. I’ve seen sportswriters wax poetic and get tearry-eyed because he remembered their name.
When Steinbrenner came into baseball, I thought he was a jerk. Most people did. He didn’t do anything unless it was stupid. Later on, when he finally stepped back a bit to let baseball people run his club, he made sure to get his face and name back in the papers, usually by doing something outlandish and petty, something brash and mean and arrogant.
I’m sorry the man died, I truly am, and sorrier still that he was apparently gravely ill before his heart finally gave way. But I never liked him. I was sorry Yogi and he got back together. And I don’t think he should be in the Hall of Fame, not that that’s even all that important.
If I were ever a Yankee fan, I’d probably feel much different. But I was never a Yankee fan. It goes against my nature. I’m one of those champions of the underdog…always have been. And that is why I became a Mets fan, after having been a Dodgers fan before that.
I don’t believe in winning at all costs. Yankee fans do. George Steinbrenner certainly did. His every action was self-serving, at least his public actions. And self-serving meant Yankee-serving by definition. So I can understand Yankee fans liking him, even loving him. And that may be the only thing I’ll ever understand about Yankee fans, that, and their win at all costs philosophy.
If George had bought the Mets, and ran the Mets the way he ran the Yankees, I’d have become another team’s fan, probably a team like the Phillies or Boston, but not the Cubs or Kansas City. My team would have to care passionately about winning, but not at all costs.
There are examples of the Yankee avarice too numerous to mention but the most recent and heinous example was their attempted acquisition of Cliff Lee. The Yanks have Sabathia, Pettitte, Burnett, Vazquez and Hughes. That’s five very fine starters. That should be enough.
For anyone who cares about competitiveness, the Yankees were already loaded. They didn’t need Cliff Lee. But the Yankees don’t care about the rest of baseball. They only care about the Yankees, their storied history, their hallowed stadium, their rings, their monuments and on and on.
The Yankees tried to guarantee their World Series win. It wasn’t enough to have Arod and Jeter and Teixeira and Cano, Posada and even Swisher, and all those pitchers. That wasn’t enough surety for the Evil Empire. For Yankee management and fans, what fun is there in watching a good baseball game?
All of that now brings me to Carlos Beltran. Carlos was out of the game for most of last season and most of this season with a bone bruise of the knee. Not that I don’t believe he was really hurt. I do. But I know there are probably contract issues that entered into the situation.
Beltran has it made in the shade, if he can find any of that in Flushing. The Mets are 4 games out, have a nice pitching staff, some good young players and, as he will still be considered as recovering, there are no outlandish expectations of him. As he always has been a great player though, we can expect that he will provide some big hits, make some nice catches, and, in most respects, be Carlos Beltran. But he won’t be expected to carry the club.
What annoys me most is that he’ll be playing at someone else’s expense. In every case, that someone else has been a key player for the Mets this year, whether it’s Francoeur, Pagan or Jason Bay.
Once again, that brings me to my point about winning at any cost. As good as Beltran has been, I’d like to see him earn his way back into the lineup. But that won’t happen, it can’t really happen, it probably shouldn’t happen, as winning certainly takes precedence over some bruised feelings.
But it doesn’t go down easy for me as a Mets fan. This Mets club seems well-knit as a team. So I worry about chemistry. But I also enjoy watching every one of those outfielders, especially Francoeur and Pagan. From my standpoint, I’d rather see Bay sit.
But, for the same reasons as Beltran must play, Bay must play. It’s that crazy but true axiom in baseball that says players eventually find their level. It’s very often true. As hard as it may be for me to believe right now, the axiom says that Jason Bay will get hot, or even torrid. And Carlos Beltran will eventually hit .300, drive in 100 runs and score a hundred times in a full season.
But it’s those exceptions to the rule that grate the most on a fan’s patience and compassion. David Wright had his worst year by far last year. His power just disappeared and never came back. Recall the lean times of Carlos Delgado in years past before he went absolutely crazy at the plate to carry the club seemingly all by himself for about six weeks.
Mets fans have to hope for the best, that a club that finishes 4 games out at the half, with Francoeur and Pagan, can finish first at season’s end with Carlos Beltran, all other things being equal (which in and of itself is saying a mouthful).
Go Carlos!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Necessity the Mother of Invention
I’m so glad I waited until after last night’s Atlanta game before making any idiotic commentary on the state of the Mets. I had been so disheartened after watching them lose four in a row. A wild pitch, a ridiculous Perez start, a Maine walking marathon, and then still another loss after a promising starter, Jonathon Niese, hurt himself. Things were looking decidedly down for our intrepid heroes.
But then there was Monday night, a new day and a new pitcher, one Mike Pelfrey, who couldn’t take his turn last time out for a shoulder twinge, or something equally ominous-sounding. But the big guy was back for last night’s game and the whole team played better. Especially nice was seeing some slick fielding to accompany some timely hitting by Barajas and some opportunistic base-running from Jose Reyes, once again a leadoff man.
The lineup issues may continue, it’s anybody’s guess, but this lineup had newbie Carter hitting in the cleanup spot and he was pretty damned impressive (1-2, run, rbi). Bay moved to the 3-hole and of course, the worst hitter in the free world, Gary Matthews, batted eighth after Barajas, who continued his torrid and timely hitting by driving in two with a hard double in the left center gap.
But the Mets finally finished on top, and Pelfrey was the biggest reason for it.
But the great game followed an organizational meeting attended by none other than owner Jeff Wilpon and GM Omar Minaya. So things were tense before the game and will probably continue that way for quite some time. It’s quite amusing to me that that brain-trust came up with a lineup that put a rookie in the cleanup spot and removed Angel Pagan from the lineup altogether.
But I love it. First they bring up Ike Davis, who outperformed Mike Jacobs and Fernando Tatis by a long shot. Now they strike gold again with Chris Carter, who supposedly can’t play right field but can hit that ball a good lick. So the brain-trust came up roses.
That a 35-year-old knuckleballer is going to start Wednesday is also pretty interesting. It says to me that they’re getting really imaginative, thinking out of the box, something this organization needs. The same old thinking, fielding an experienced lineup of journeymen retreads, clearly wasn’t working. The last of those might be Matthews, who must have something on somebody to stay on the roster at all.
It’s easy to have mixed feelings right now. You’re happy to not only beat Atlanta in the opener, but to do it the way they did, by playing good baseball all around. At the same time though, you worry about Wednesday and hope Santana can win later today.
You worry about Wednesday because it’ll still be one more starter coming up from the minors, and this time a really veteran knuckler. R.A. Dickey. And truthfully, you worry going forward to Thursday when John Maine takes the mound again after his 13 straight balls in his last putrid start fresh in your mind and nasal cavities.
Then it’ll be Hisanori Takahashi going on Friday against the Yankees. Holy cow! as Phil would have exclaimed. Takahashi replaces Ollie Perez in the rotation, of course, and Perez will take his place as a long reliever. You can’t say it’s not interesting.
And can they be shopping Pagan? Is that why he wasn’t in the lineup? Pagan is a very serviceable commodity in their outfield, and with Beltran coming back and Fernando Martinez still another significant minor league presence, it would make sense to trade for a pitcher, and I’m sure Pagan may even get one.
The Mets are certainly showing some resourcefulness lately. Plato wasn’t a Mets fan but he did call it when he talked about necessity being the mother of invention. The Mets have been really needy lately too.
Even the Yankees are showing some neediness lately though. They got a walkoff dinger from Marcus Thames last night off Boston’s Papelbon, and that came exactly one night after pulling Joba for loading the bases and inserting a none too healthy Mariano Rivera for a 5-out save, a move that really puzzled me at the time, another one of those inexplicable Girardi brain farts.
I’m just happy Girardi’s in the Bronx. The Mets have enough problems. But it’s hard for Girardi to fall on his butt what with Gardner spelling Granderson with flash and even power and a guy like Thames on the bench. We have Tatis and Matthews.
The Mets future depends a lot on whether Maine can show some toughness for once and come back strong in his next start, and, hopefully for a few starts after that. To have to drop one of your starters from the rotation (Perez) is bad enough; to have to drop two would be disastrous, especially if Niese’s hamstring injury, which appears relatively minor as this is written, winds up being serious.
If Maine should continue to falter, and if Niese can’t return, the Mets almost have to make a deal for a pitcher. I can imagine any number of inventive deals down the line, involving just about any serviceable, and thus trade-able, player, either Pagan or possibly even a Carlos Beltran, certainly a more than serviceable commodity, one who has been and probably will be, an enormous distraction.
If things get really crazy, and if the Mets can’t turn it around, I suppose there will be nothing sacrosanct about the manager’s position. I’ve always got a big kick out of Jerry Manuel, but I have to wonder whether some of the problems, especially the weak performances from Wright, Reyes and Bay, aren’t due, at least in part, to Manuel’s own inventiveness, some of which may not have been out of necessity.
The inventiveness could even extend all the way to Omar Minaya, who has to take the hit for Ollie Perez, his most conspicuous error but certainly not the only one.
Last place tends to accentuate all the necessities.
But then there was Monday night, a new day and a new pitcher, one Mike Pelfrey, who couldn’t take his turn last time out for a shoulder twinge, or something equally ominous-sounding. But the big guy was back for last night’s game and the whole team played better. Especially nice was seeing some slick fielding to accompany some timely hitting by Barajas and some opportunistic base-running from Jose Reyes, once again a leadoff man.
The lineup issues may continue, it’s anybody’s guess, but this lineup had newbie Carter hitting in the cleanup spot and he was pretty damned impressive (1-2, run, rbi). Bay moved to the 3-hole and of course, the worst hitter in the free world, Gary Matthews, batted eighth after Barajas, who continued his torrid and timely hitting by driving in two with a hard double in the left center gap.
But the Mets finally finished on top, and Pelfrey was the biggest reason for it.
But the great game followed an organizational meeting attended by none other than owner Jeff Wilpon and GM Omar Minaya. So things were tense before the game and will probably continue that way for quite some time. It’s quite amusing to me that that brain-trust came up with a lineup that put a rookie in the cleanup spot and removed Angel Pagan from the lineup altogether.
But I love it. First they bring up Ike Davis, who outperformed Mike Jacobs and Fernando Tatis by a long shot. Now they strike gold again with Chris Carter, who supposedly can’t play right field but can hit that ball a good lick. So the brain-trust came up roses.
That a 35-year-old knuckleballer is going to start Wednesday is also pretty interesting. It says to me that they’re getting really imaginative, thinking out of the box, something this organization needs. The same old thinking, fielding an experienced lineup of journeymen retreads, clearly wasn’t working. The last of those might be Matthews, who must have something on somebody to stay on the roster at all.
It’s easy to have mixed feelings right now. You’re happy to not only beat Atlanta in the opener, but to do it the way they did, by playing good baseball all around. At the same time though, you worry about Wednesday and hope Santana can win later today.
You worry about Wednesday because it’ll still be one more starter coming up from the minors, and this time a really veteran knuckler. R.A. Dickey. And truthfully, you worry going forward to Thursday when John Maine takes the mound again after his 13 straight balls in his last putrid start fresh in your mind and nasal cavities.
Then it’ll be Hisanori Takahashi going on Friday against the Yankees. Holy cow! as Phil would have exclaimed. Takahashi replaces Ollie Perez in the rotation, of course, and Perez will take his place as a long reliever. You can’t say it’s not interesting.
And can they be shopping Pagan? Is that why he wasn’t in the lineup? Pagan is a very serviceable commodity in their outfield, and with Beltran coming back and Fernando Martinez still another significant minor league presence, it would make sense to trade for a pitcher, and I’m sure Pagan may even get one.
The Mets are certainly showing some resourcefulness lately. Plato wasn’t a Mets fan but he did call it when he talked about necessity being the mother of invention. The Mets have been really needy lately too.
Even the Yankees are showing some neediness lately though. They got a walkoff dinger from Marcus Thames last night off Boston’s Papelbon, and that came exactly one night after pulling Joba for loading the bases and inserting a none too healthy Mariano Rivera for a 5-out save, a move that really puzzled me at the time, another one of those inexplicable Girardi brain farts.
I’m just happy Girardi’s in the Bronx. The Mets have enough problems. But it’s hard for Girardi to fall on his butt what with Gardner spelling Granderson with flash and even power and a guy like Thames on the bench. We have Tatis and Matthews.
The Mets future depends a lot on whether Maine can show some toughness for once and come back strong in his next start, and, hopefully for a few starts after that. To have to drop one of your starters from the rotation (Perez) is bad enough; to have to drop two would be disastrous, especially if Niese’s hamstring injury, which appears relatively minor as this is written, winds up being serious.
If Maine should continue to falter, and if Niese can’t return, the Mets almost have to make a deal for a pitcher. I can imagine any number of inventive deals down the line, involving just about any serviceable, and thus trade-able, player, either Pagan or possibly even a Carlos Beltran, certainly a more than serviceable commodity, one who has been and probably will be, an enormous distraction.
If things get really crazy, and if the Mets can’t turn it around, I suppose there will be nothing sacrosanct about the manager’s position. I’ve always got a big kick out of Jerry Manuel, but I have to wonder whether some of the problems, especially the weak performances from Wright, Reyes and Bay, aren’t due, at least in part, to Manuel’s own inventiveness, some of which may not have been out of necessity.
The inventiveness could even extend all the way to Omar Minaya, who has to take the hit for Ollie Perez, his most conspicuous error but certainly not the only one.
Last place tends to accentuate all the necessities.
Monday, March 22, 2010
All About Relief for the Mets
Okay, I’m psyched. “30 Clubs in 30 Days” is on the tube, it’s raining so I can’t be doing anything else, the grass, the paneling, the roof leak, the paint, and the MLB Channel is featuring the Giants. (No, not those pansies with the secondary that can’t cover).
Oh baby! Here’s Bruce Bochy! (Giants manager).
The Giants are all about pitching. Notables are that little whipper Lincecum and Matt Cain and Barry Friggin’ Zito and more. They have no offense to speak of…well, it’s actually pretty unspeakable.They’ve got this big kid closing too, one Brian Wilson who’s got a great fastball and is wasting his time developing a breaking ball.
What are the Mets all about? Umm….injuries? How about lack of focus? It sure seems that way sometimes. But let me try harder…really think about this team. Pitching? A little shaky, especially the starters if they stay with Maine and Perez. Santana’s looking recovered but will he be the same Santana?
I saw John Maine down in Florida and he was awful. He had a better outing his next time out but here is a guy who looks as if he just doesn’t care. He has no presence whatsoever. I’m really tired of his act. I think a little recess in AAA is long overdue for him. Perez….even if he were having a good spring, (which, to my mind he’s really not, he’s still good one day and awful the next), is an unknown and, if he has a bad start, he should go to Buffalo along with Maine.
That would leave a rotation of Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese and Nelson Figueroa or Bobby Parnell. I’d be happier with that, but it’s hardly a world-beater starting rotation. All is not lost though. Niese can really be very good and Figgy always gives a good effort. I’d rather see Bobby Parnell set up for Ol’ Pinkeye, the closer.
Speaking of relief, I think we can expect big things from them. I really like both the Japanese pickups, Igarashi and Takahashi, and Calero looks good too. They’ve got Feliciano to get out the odd lefty (aren’t they all a little odd?)
All in all, I’d have to say the 2010 Mets will NOT be all about starting pitching. It looks to me as if there’ll be a lot of five-inning stints, except for the horse Pelfrey, and we’ll be seeing a lot of these relievers, which really won’t be such a bad thing, not like 2008 anyway, when it was “batten down the hatches, here comes trouble.”
The relief pitching will keep the Mets in games for that offense.
Are the Mets all about hitting? No, especially as presently constructed. But, if Reyes and Beltran return in good form, things improve considerably. Pagan can be off and on offensively but isn’t a real liability in center. Then there’s Fernando Martinez, the rookie who’s wow-ing everybody but Mets management. To spell Reyes, there is just Alex Cora.
There’re worse leadoff guys in the game than Angel Pagan. (In fact, Reyes is one of them when he’s off in never-never land). Then there is ol’ steady Luis Castillo, who is reputed to be looking to drive the ball more this year, heh-heh. That leaves that all-important three-hole to David Wright, and he’s looking more athletic to me this year, not so bulky like an old softball player. And his swing seems faster, quicker. So the first three spots are reliable.
Manning the four through six lineup spots would be Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur and David Murphy, not necessarily in that order. Bay has impressed me thus far and Francoeur is just a good guy all around. You just wish he’d swing at a strike once in a while. Murphy will be more reliable this year as he ended last year strongly and should benefit from the year at first base, if Mike Jacobs doesn’t drive him up the wall. Jacobs will provide a power threat that Murphy doesn’t really bring to the table.
So I’d say the middle lineup could be a pleasant surprise. There’re runs there somewhere.
Without Beltran and Reyes though, the Mets have just six batters. I count on nothing from Cora and Barajas. Hopefully, the Mets will finally give Omir Santos a chance. That’d improve a bleak seven and eight, but opposing pitchers will be able to pitch carefully to Francoeur and Murphy without a threat to follow.
Bring Reyes and Beltran back and things get way better in a hurry. Then you have eight solid hitters, if Santos catches. There will be nobody to pitch around. That means a lot in the National League, with only the pitcher to contend with at nine. Moving Francoeur and Murphy back to 6 and 7 and inserting Santos at 8 would give the lineup some punch all the way through. Reyes, Beltran, Bay, Wright, Francoeur…..I’m very much looking forward to it.
How about defense? Well, they’ll be okay without Reyes and Beltran but things get better in a hurry if they come back real soon, not because their replacements are bad fielders but just that Reyes and Beltran are terrific. So, yeah, the Mets could be all about defense in time.
So, the Mets won’t be all about anything really, at least not to start with. If they’ll be about anything, it’ll be relief…the return of two star players and that strong relieving corps. They’ll have trouble early with the Marlins and Braves for sure, and forget about playing with the Phillies. The best they could hope for would be a .500 record going into May.
But, when Beltran and Reyes return, the Mets will become a real force. Anyway you look at it, Beltran and Reyes will drastically improve the lineup and the defense. The relief pitching willl keep them in games in the bad times and keep them ahead in the good times.
Prognostication? With Beltran and Reyes - 2nd in NL East and possible wildcard. Without them, 4th.
Oh baby! Here’s Bruce Bochy! (Giants manager).
The Giants are all about pitching. Notables are that little whipper Lincecum and Matt Cain and Barry Friggin’ Zito and more. They have no offense to speak of…well, it’s actually pretty unspeakable.They’ve got this big kid closing too, one Brian Wilson who’s got a great fastball and is wasting his time developing a breaking ball.
What are the Mets all about? Umm….injuries? How about lack of focus? It sure seems that way sometimes. But let me try harder…really think about this team. Pitching? A little shaky, especially the starters if they stay with Maine and Perez. Santana’s looking recovered but will he be the same Santana?
I saw John Maine down in Florida and he was awful. He had a better outing his next time out but here is a guy who looks as if he just doesn’t care. He has no presence whatsoever. I’m really tired of his act. I think a little recess in AAA is long overdue for him. Perez….even if he were having a good spring, (which, to my mind he’s really not, he’s still good one day and awful the next), is an unknown and, if he has a bad start, he should go to Buffalo along with Maine.
That would leave a rotation of Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese and Nelson Figueroa or Bobby Parnell. I’d be happier with that, but it’s hardly a world-beater starting rotation. All is not lost though. Niese can really be very good and Figgy always gives a good effort. I’d rather see Bobby Parnell set up for Ol’ Pinkeye, the closer.
Speaking of relief, I think we can expect big things from them. I really like both the Japanese pickups, Igarashi and Takahashi, and Calero looks good too. They’ve got Feliciano to get out the odd lefty (aren’t they all a little odd?)
All in all, I’d have to say the 2010 Mets will NOT be all about starting pitching. It looks to me as if there’ll be a lot of five-inning stints, except for the horse Pelfrey, and we’ll be seeing a lot of these relievers, which really won’t be such a bad thing, not like 2008 anyway, when it was “batten down the hatches, here comes trouble.”
The relief pitching will keep the Mets in games for that offense.
Are the Mets all about hitting? No, especially as presently constructed. But, if Reyes and Beltran return in good form, things improve considerably. Pagan can be off and on offensively but isn’t a real liability in center. Then there’s Fernando Martinez, the rookie who’s wow-ing everybody but Mets management. To spell Reyes, there is just Alex Cora.
There’re worse leadoff guys in the game than Angel Pagan. (In fact, Reyes is one of them when he’s off in never-never land). Then there is ol’ steady Luis Castillo, who is reputed to be looking to drive the ball more this year, heh-heh. That leaves that all-important three-hole to David Wright, and he’s looking more athletic to me this year, not so bulky like an old softball player. And his swing seems faster, quicker. So the first three spots are reliable.
Manning the four through six lineup spots would be Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur and David Murphy, not necessarily in that order. Bay has impressed me thus far and Francoeur is just a good guy all around. You just wish he’d swing at a strike once in a while. Murphy will be more reliable this year as he ended last year strongly and should benefit from the year at first base, if Mike Jacobs doesn’t drive him up the wall. Jacobs will provide a power threat that Murphy doesn’t really bring to the table.
So I’d say the middle lineup could be a pleasant surprise. There’re runs there somewhere.
Without Beltran and Reyes though, the Mets have just six batters. I count on nothing from Cora and Barajas. Hopefully, the Mets will finally give Omir Santos a chance. That’d improve a bleak seven and eight, but opposing pitchers will be able to pitch carefully to Francoeur and Murphy without a threat to follow.
Bring Reyes and Beltran back and things get way better in a hurry. Then you have eight solid hitters, if Santos catches. There will be nobody to pitch around. That means a lot in the National League, with only the pitcher to contend with at nine. Moving Francoeur and Murphy back to 6 and 7 and inserting Santos at 8 would give the lineup some punch all the way through. Reyes, Beltran, Bay, Wright, Francoeur…..I’m very much looking forward to it.
How about defense? Well, they’ll be okay without Reyes and Beltran but things get better in a hurry if they come back real soon, not because their replacements are bad fielders but just that Reyes and Beltran are terrific. So, yeah, the Mets could be all about defense in time.
So, the Mets won’t be all about anything really, at least not to start with. If they’ll be about anything, it’ll be relief…the return of two star players and that strong relieving corps. They’ll have trouble early with the Marlins and Braves for sure, and forget about playing with the Phillies. The best they could hope for would be a .500 record going into May.
But, when Beltran and Reyes return, the Mets will become a real force. Anyway you look at it, Beltran and Reyes will drastically improve the lineup and the defense. The relief pitching willl keep them in games in the bad times and keep them ahead in the good times.
Prognostication? With Beltran and Reyes - 2nd in NL East and possible wildcard. Without them, 4th.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
On 2010 Fantasy Baseball
Let me first offer my apologies to any regular readers for my extreme laziness of late. The Winter Olympics, though, is not really my cup of java, or anything else for that matter. Basketball doesn’t send me either, especially lately, although I suppose Tracy McGrady going to the Knicks was worthy of a few words.
And there’s been nothing new with the ol’ blue and orange. Even with spring training under way, there haven’t been too many nuggets upon which to comment. And I’m even having trouble filling out my fantasy baseball league. You don’t suppose it’s my inane posts, do you?
Fantasy baseball, for the uninitiated, is to me by far the best fantasy game, especially if you have some time to spare, as the opportunities to make moves abound, setting your pitching staff for the week, deciding between your fast second baseman and your slugger, or even picking up spot pitchers in a given week to put some pressure on your opponent. (This almost never works).
It’s still three weeks to the fantasy draft so I have ample time to obsess about which players I’d especially like to have on my roster. But I can’t even begin my period of real obsession until the draft order is set, and that really can’t be done until the league hopefully fills out a bit.
For the present then, I can just hope against hope that I don’t draw the number 1 pick, as Albert Pujols would be the only logical pick there, and I’m really not enthralled with the prospect of rooting for either him or the Cardinals. Of course, Matt Holliday is there in St Loo too, along with a couple of other fellows who can hit, so I should perhaps change my view.
Then there is the question of whether or not I want to have Mets on my roster. While Carlos Beltran has been practically a fixture on my annual fantasy teams, it’ll be troubling to assess how many rounds he should drop due to his late start and, even more troubling perhaps, how he’ll play when he returns.
Will he be a stolen base threat at all? Will his apparent disgruntledness make him take a seat when he’s a little sore? Will he decide it’s just too much trouble to take that extra base? Will the absence of Carlos Delgado bother him a lot? I’m thinking yes to that last question and really have very little clue as to the answers to the first two questions.
Should I continue my anti-Yankee policy? While my heart says yes, my head is screaming no, no, no. Even without Damon and Matsui, that Yankee lineup could be a real killer…again. Granderson is dangerous and, while I’m quite sure Nick Johnson will get hurt again, he still poses a threat to keep those rallies going when he is in the lineup.
But really, how can I live with having Arod or Jeter or Posada on my team? Do I really want to put myself in the position of having to root for them? I think not. I’ll just have to find a competing roster that can score nearly as much. Certainly the Phillies will find their way to home plate quite often this year, and the Cards should do very nicely indeed.
I’m sure my spring training trip next week will also affect my selections and, as I’ll be seeing a lot of the Marlins and Cards along with the Mets, I’m sure a Hanley Ramirez or Dan Uggla might find his way into my lineup, possibly to join a Holliday or a Poo Holes.
I know one thing for sure. I’ll be more likely to acquire a Jeff Francoeur in a late round rather than a David Wright or Jose Reyes early. And the same goes for pitchers, I guess, as Santana is coming off an operation and only the true faithful could expect big seasons from Perez, Pelfrey or Maine.
Who’ll be the surprise team of 2010? It could be the Reds or even the Pirates, believe it or not, or maybe those strange Brewers. And I’m expecting more from the Cubs and less from the Dodgers. In the American League, I’m expecting a lot from Seattle and, of course, the Twins, not that that would be that much of a surprise. And the M&M twins, Mauer and Morneau, could have very big years….hmmm.
Will a guy like Giants starter Tim Lincecum relax after his big contract? Will the Phils outfielder Jayson Werth go nuts in this last year of his contract? And how will Jason Bay react to his first year as a Met?
Then there’s the question of the newbies, the future stars and big bonus babies who sometimes pan out but more often either split time or play in AAA until July. There’ll be a run on those types in the late rounds and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down when that pick string commences.
Here is where you can find a good summary of those rookies expected to break out in 2010. You’ve probably heard of Stephen Strasburg, the million dollar baby with the Nationals (who could be another sleeper team), but you may not be familiar with Drew Storen, that same team’s potential closer.
And Neftali Feliz, who, I seem to recall, put in some innings last year as a reliever is said to be the Rangers’ Joba Chamberlain. He might become a starter if he can handle the innings.
On the hitting side of your roster, you might consider the Giants’ Buster Posey (and I love the name too, a nice baseball name), a catcher who can spell Bengie Molina, whose penchant for free-swinging is legendary. Another great baseball name is the Rangers’ Justin Smoak, who should be a pitcher with that moniker but actually plays the outfield and can hit like crazy.
So good luck, fantasy nuts, and make sure that first pick is solid. You’ll need him.
And there’s been nothing new with the ol’ blue and orange. Even with spring training under way, there haven’t been too many nuggets upon which to comment. And I’m even having trouble filling out my fantasy baseball league. You don’t suppose it’s my inane posts, do you?
Fantasy baseball, for the uninitiated, is to me by far the best fantasy game, especially if you have some time to spare, as the opportunities to make moves abound, setting your pitching staff for the week, deciding between your fast second baseman and your slugger, or even picking up spot pitchers in a given week to put some pressure on your opponent. (This almost never works).
It’s still three weeks to the fantasy draft so I have ample time to obsess about which players I’d especially like to have on my roster. But I can’t even begin my period of real obsession until the draft order is set, and that really can’t be done until the league hopefully fills out a bit.
For the present then, I can just hope against hope that I don’t draw the number 1 pick, as Albert Pujols would be the only logical pick there, and I’m really not enthralled with the prospect of rooting for either him or the Cardinals. Of course, Matt Holliday is there in St Loo too, along with a couple of other fellows who can hit, so I should perhaps change my view.
Then there is the question of whether or not I want to have Mets on my roster. While Carlos Beltran has been practically a fixture on my annual fantasy teams, it’ll be troubling to assess how many rounds he should drop due to his late start and, even more troubling perhaps, how he’ll play when he returns.
Will he be a stolen base threat at all? Will his apparent disgruntledness make him take a seat when he’s a little sore? Will he decide it’s just too much trouble to take that extra base? Will the absence of Carlos Delgado bother him a lot? I’m thinking yes to that last question and really have very little clue as to the answers to the first two questions.
Should I continue my anti-Yankee policy? While my heart says yes, my head is screaming no, no, no. Even without Damon and Matsui, that Yankee lineup could be a real killer…again. Granderson is dangerous and, while I’m quite sure Nick Johnson will get hurt again, he still poses a threat to keep those rallies going when he is in the lineup.
But really, how can I live with having Arod or Jeter or Posada on my team? Do I really want to put myself in the position of having to root for them? I think not. I’ll just have to find a competing roster that can score nearly as much. Certainly the Phillies will find their way to home plate quite often this year, and the Cards should do very nicely indeed.
I’m sure my spring training trip next week will also affect my selections and, as I’ll be seeing a lot of the Marlins and Cards along with the Mets, I’m sure a Hanley Ramirez or Dan Uggla might find his way into my lineup, possibly to join a Holliday or a Poo Holes.
I know one thing for sure. I’ll be more likely to acquire a Jeff Francoeur in a late round rather than a David Wright or Jose Reyes early. And the same goes for pitchers, I guess, as Santana is coming off an operation and only the true faithful could expect big seasons from Perez, Pelfrey or Maine.
Who’ll be the surprise team of 2010? It could be the Reds or even the Pirates, believe it or not, or maybe those strange Brewers. And I’m expecting more from the Cubs and less from the Dodgers. In the American League, I’m expecting a lot from Seattle and, of course, the Twins, not that that would be that much of a surprise. And the M&M twins, Mauer and Morneau, could have very big years….hmmm.
Will a guy like Giants starter Tim Lincecum relax after his big contract? Will the Phils outfielder Jayson Werth go nuts in this last year of his contract? And how will Jason Bay react to his first year as a Met?
Then there’s the question of the newbies, the future stars and big bonus babies who sometimes pan out but more often either split time or play in AAA until July. There’ll be a run on those types in the late rounds and you don’t want to be caught with your pants down when that pick string commences.
Here is where you can find a good summary of those rookies expected to break out in 2010. You’ve probably heard of Stephen Strasburg, the million dollar baby with the Nationals (who could be another sleeper team), but you may not be familiar with Drew Storen, that same team’s potential closer.
And Neftali Feliz, who, I seem to recall, put in some innings last year as a reliever is said to be the Rangers’ Joba Chamberlain. He might become a starter if he can handle the innings.
On the hitting side of your roster, you might consider the Giants’ Buster Posey (and I love the name too, a nice baseball name), a catcher who can spell Bengie Molina, whose penchant for free-swinging is legendary. Another great baseball name is the Rangers’ Justin Smoak, who should be a pitcher with that moniker but actually plays the outfield and can hit like crazy.
So good luck, fantasy nuts, and make sure that first pick is solid. You’ll need him.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Three Words for Mets Panners
In mid-winter every four years, a young man’s mind must surely turn to the thrill of watching the sport of curling….a cold and slick variation, it would seem, of horseshoes or maybe bocce, except for two crazed assistant sliders who accompany this foot-long disk down the ice, somehow magically determining whether the disk will attain its target. Gimme a friggin’ break….and pardon my Latvian.
Latvia, of course, was in the Olympic news as they faced off against their captor Russians in ice-hockey. That thriller could be witnessed on MSNBC also while the regular NBC affiliate carried the ever more popular men’s (using the term very loosely) ice skating. Woo_Hoo!!
And all that nonsense is still more interesting than college basketball and the NBA, where too many teams are chasing too little talent in a star system with not enough stars to go around. And the Knicks might even get Tracy McGrady…about 6 or 7 years late…all in what I’m almost sure will be a thwarted attempt at picking up one of the five or so superstars in the game.
Thank God for baseball. Thank God for the Mets. Thank God for the National League. And damnation to all the rest…the hated Yankees, all Steinbrenner’s money, all Cashman’s Verducci pitch-count crap, the designated hitter rule and finally, all those alleged Mets fans and prognosticators just lambasting Mets management for just about every move they make…or don’t make, as the case may be.
My USA-Today Sports Weekly now informs me in their early-season power rankings that the Mets are the 22nd best team in baseball. I hear on the radio that they’ll finish no better than 4th in their division. What baloney!
How does a team that was a title-contender in 2008, a team that lacked only relief pitching, drop so far in every man’s opinion? Here was a team that picked up that needed relief pitching in 2009 but here also was a team that was then unlucky enough to lose its three biggest stars to injury.
At the same time this Mets team experienced every possible malady known to mankind. They lost one of those relief pitchers very early too. They lost just about every player for significant portions of the season, including their #1 starter, Johan Santana.
And, in order to just get through that stinking 2009, the Mets did some good things. They picked up Jeff Francoeur from the Braves to play right field. Along the way and into 2010, the Mets got arguably the best left-fielder in baseball in Jason Bay. They also picked up two very decent pitchers out of Japan and one Kelvim Escobar who could turn out to be as good as a number two starter, or at the very least, a nice long reliever.
Okay, so they didn’t pick up a second baseman to replace the guy who hit friggin’ .300 and did his job in every conceivable fashion. And they didn’t renew Carlos Delgado, one of those stars who went down in 2009. The one glaring error, but only in retrospect, was the re-signing of Oliver Perez for big big dollars. Failure, thy name was Ollie.
Most of these alleged Mets fans will also point to the failures of Daniel Murphy at first base and do not relish seeing him man the position for 2010 as well. Not me. I think Murphy will improve a great deal over his 2009 season. Most young players do. And he’s got Keith Hernandez in his corner, a hot corner, teaching him the finer points of defense….and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s talking some hitting as well. Keith has never been bashful.
So let’s re-hash and simplify. All those Mets-panners say we’ll get nothing out of either Japanese pitcher, nothing out of Kelvim Escobar, nothing out of Jeff Francoeur, oh, and lest I forget, nothing out of Mike Jacobs, who they acquired for power at first in the event that Murphy continues to do nothing.
Well gee whiz, guys, I think that’s God-awful pessimistic thinking, even for Mets fans. The only real missing piece from 2008 will be Carlos Delgado. Instead of replacing his power at first base, the Mets have added power in left field. And I’m sure every fantasy baseball player in the land would take Jason Bay over Carlos Delgado, any day of the week.
Oh, and Carlos Beltran will probably return in June. He’ll miss April and May for maybe 35 games. That leaves only about 125 in which he’ll play. Chances are he’ll be the old Carlos Beltran, the 5-tool guy who does everything. April and May will belong to Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr., either of whom I’d take over a lot of centerfielders in the game.
So here’s the lineup in June….
1. Ss Jose Reyes – switch - .286 – 100 runs, 50 sb’s
2. 2b Luis Castillo – switch - .292 – 70 runs
3. 3b David Wright – right - .309 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
4. Cf Carlos Beltran – switch - .283 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
5. Lf Jason Bay – right - .280 – 100 rbi’s
6. 1b Daniel Murphy – left - .275 – 70 rbi’s
7. Rf Jeff Francoeur – right - .271 – 90 rbi’s
8. C Omir Santos – right - .260 – 75 rbi’s
9. P Pitcher
Before Beltran’s return in June, there will be a deficit in left-handed power as Wright, Bay and Francoeur all bat from the right side, which is somewhat problematical unless Pagan bats in the middle of the lineup and really doesn’t hit for power. (Detractors will assert that Francoeur and Wright don’t either).
Catching has also been cast as a problem but I don’t think so. Anyone watching Omir Santos knows that he hit .260, and chipped in 40 rbi’s in only 280 at-bats. I suspect two things…one, that he’ll be even more productive with more at-bats and two, he’ll continue to improve as 2009 was really his first year in the majors. Santos could probably deliver over 80 ribbies in 2010.
Let’s go Mets!
Latvia, of course, was in the Olympic news as they faced off against their captor Russians in ice-hockey. That thriller could be witnessed on MSNBC also while the regular NBC affiliate carried the ever more popular men’s (using the term very loosely) ice skating. Woo_Hoo!!
And all that nonsense is still more interesting than college basketball and the NBA, where too many teams are chasing too little talent in a star system with not enough stars to go around. And the Knicks might even get Tracy McGrady…about 6 or 7 years late…all in what I’m almost sure will be a thwarted attempt at picking up one of the five or so superstars in the game.
Thank God for baseball. Thank God for the Mets. Thank God for the National League. And damnation to all the rest…the hated Yankees, all Steinbrenner’s money, all Cashman’s Verducci pitch-count crap, the designated hitter rule and finally, all those alleged Mets fans and prognosticators just lambasting Mets management for just about every move they make…or don’t make, as the case may be.
My USA-Today Sports Weekly now informs me in their early-season power rankings that the Mets are the 22nd best team in baseball. I hear on the radio that they’ll finish no better than 4th in their division. What baloney!
How does a team that was a title-contender in 2008, a team that lacked only relief pitching, drop so far in every man’s opinion? Here was a team that picked up that needed relief pitching in 2009 but here also was a team that was then unlucky enough to lose its three biggest stars to injury.
At the same time this Mets team experienced every possible malady known to mankind. They lost one of those relief pitchers very early too. They lost just about every player for significant portions of the season, including their #1 starter, Johan Santana.
And, in order to just get through that stinking 2009, the Mets did some good things. They picked up Jeff Francoeur from the Braves to play right field. Along the way and into 2010, the Mets got arguably the best left-fielder in baseball in Jason Bay. They also picked up two very decent pitchers out of Japan and one Kelvim Escobar who could turn out to be as good as a number two starter, or at the very least, a nice long reliever.
Okay, so they didn’t pick up a second baseman to replace the guy who hit friggin’ .300 and did his job in every conceivable fashion. And they didn’t renew Carlos Delgado, one of those stars who went down in 2009. The one glaring error, but only in retrospect, was the re-signing of Oliver Perez for big big dollars. Failure, thy name was Ollie.
Most of these alleged Mets fans will also point to the failures of Daniel Murphy at first base and do not relish seeing him man the position for 2010 as well. Not me. I think Murphy will improve a great deal over his 2009 season. Most young players do. And he’s got Keith Hernandez in his corner, a hot corner, teaching him the finer points of defense….and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s talking some hitting as well. Keith has never been bashful.
So let’s re-hash and simplify. All those Mets-panners say we’ll get nothing out of either Japanese pitcher, nothing out of Kelvim Escobar, nothing out of Jeff Francoeur, oh, and lest I forget, nothing out of Mike Jacobs, who they acquired for power at first in the event that Murphy continues to do nothing.
Well gee whiz, guys, I think that’s God-awful pessimistic thinking, even for Mets fans. The only real missing piece from 2008 will be Carlos Delgado. Instead of replacing his power at first base, the Mets have added power in left field. And I’m sure every fantasy baseball player in the land would take Jason Bay over Carlos Delgado, any day of the week.
Oh, and Carlos Beltran will probably return in June. He’ll miss April and May for maybe 35 games. That leaves only about 125 in which he’ll play. Chances are he’ll be the old Carlos Beltran, the 5-tool guy who does everything. April and May will belong to Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr., either of whom I’d take over a lot of centerfielders in the game.
So here’s the lineup in June….
1. Ss Jose Reyes – switch - .286 – 100 runs, 50 sb’s
2. 2b Luis Castillo – switch - .292 – 70 runs
3. 3b David Wright – right - .309 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
4. Cf Carlos Beltran – switch - .283 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
5. Lf Jason Bay – right - .280 – 100 rbi’s
6. 1b Daniel Murphy – left - .275 – 70 rbi’s
7. Rf Jeff Francoeur – right - .271 – 90 rbi’s
8. C Omir Santos – right - .260 – 75 rbi’s
9. P Pitcher
Before Beltran’s return in June, there will be a deficit in left-handed power as Wright, Bay and Francoeur all bat from the right side, which is somewhat problematical unless Pagan bats in the middle of the lineup and really doesn’t hit for power. (Detractors will assert that Francoeur and Wright don’t either).
Catching has also been cast as a problem but I don’t think so. Anyone watching Omir Santos knows that he hit .260, and chipped in 40 rbi’s in only 280 at-bats. I suspect two things…one, that he’ll be even more productive with more at-bats and two, he’ll continue to improve as 2009 was really his first year in the majors. Santos could probably deliver over 80 ribbies in 2010.
Let’s go Mets!
Monday, October 5, 2009
And Back to Baseball.....
After a decidedly mediocre week of picks in Week 4 of the NFL action (6-7 against the spread thus far), it’s an easy matter to turn my head back to baseball. The Mets finally get to think about next year. The Twins and Tigers battle for the final playoff spot tonight. The Yanks are all set to play somebody. And Arod incredibly reached 30 homers and 100 rbi’s on his very last at-bat of the regular season.
That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!
No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!
Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.
If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.
Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.
At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.
That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.
Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.
There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?
There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.
At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.
Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.
For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.
The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.
That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?
That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!
No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!
Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.
If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.
Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.
At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.
That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.
Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.
There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?
There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.
At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.
Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.
For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.
The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.
That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?
Sunday, June 14, 2009
It's Just a Game
Well, here we are on Sunday afternoon, the Mets game just starting, and we’ve got Johan Santana going against the hated Yankees. Again. The Yanks have A.J. Burnet going so it should be a game more reminiscent of the opener, the one Luis Castillo lost.
Let’s not forget that in our rush to forgive him. I know he said some things after the game that made everybody happy, and he performed pretty well in Game 2. But his gaffe was a classic choke. He was overwhelmed by the moment. That doesn’t bode well for the future.
It should have been a great Friday night. (Luis just caught a popup to derisive applause). Instead, what we got was misery. It should have been a story of Joba and the equally as stiff-necked Jorge Posada fighting for four innings, it should have been about Joe Girardi totally blowing the game by inserting Mariano Rivera into the game in the eighth, a move that totally backfired when David Wright ripped a double to right center. It should have been the tale of K-Rod vs. A-Rod, a bout clearly won by K-Rod as he induced the easy popup to second base.
But no, what we got was a stumblin’ bumblin’ Luis Castillo. You knew he was going to miss it from the start. His legs weren’t working right, you could see he was flustered, and for a second it looked as if he wouldn’t even get under the ball. But instead, he just opened his mitt as far as he could spread it, like a frying pan, and his hands proved as hard as one, as the ball bounced a foot in the air as Luis fell to the ground.
Let’s not forget how pitiful it was, that’s all. Yeah, he apologized. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I had been one of his advocates, willing to accept his shortcomings for his veteran presence. But not after Friday night. Luis can get together with his friend Ryan Church, go down to the bus station, and buy a ticket anywhere they want.
Yes, Ryan Church hit a big homer the other day. That’s just great. It was his first homer in eons. It’ll likely be his last homer for a while. Did I say homer? It’ll probably be one of the few hits he gets this month. Francesa keeps saying Manuel is picking on him. I say “Good”!
Church’s best point is that he’s usually ineffectual. The rest of the time, he loses games.
We’ve got Fernando Martinez now. Send Church packing. Send Castillo packing. They’re wonderful people but they either don’t touch third base on the way home or they don’t catch fly balls with the game on the line.
Understanding? Sorry, my plate is full. I can’t take any more. Of course I realize the Mets can’t really just drop the two of them, especially in their depleted state, but let’s not expect too much from them. Bat for Church in big spots and spell Castillo with defensive replacements for the rest of his contract. They both deserve the disdain.
We’ve all faced situations like Castillo’s. We all choke up a bit in critical situations, usually if we’re really not prepared. The job interviewer opens with “tell me about yourself” and if you really hadn’t thought about it, you might have a lot of trouble. Practice and experience make those moments go away. Ordinarily.
Two games that should have been in the book as wins were lost. Two big wins became two big losses. As I said, my plate is full. When your veterans can’t perform under pressure, you may as well pack it in.
As this is written, Santana is getting banged around and Martinez missed the cutoff man. While yesterday was the day of Fernando, Martinez and Nieve, today will not be a repeat.
It’s now 4-zip. It’s probably over, or may as well be. Maybe I’ll switch to the parade. Bernie’s playing guitar there and with no less than another Feliciano, the one who wants you to light his fire. Well, Wright got still another hit, but who should come up but ol’ rally-killin’ Church. He thus far today has grounded out on the first pitch he was offered. Typical day for Church. And he just struck out, what a surprise.
The news isn’t all bad for the Mets though. Omir Santos has been a pleasant surprise. I like Alex Cora. Sheffield looks bad quite a lot but then does pop one over the wall once in a while. He looks for the base on balls much too often and sometimes looks silly doing it.
The pitching’s been pretty good too. It’ll certainly help them stay in the race, but this club is not a winner. It’s a shame too. They have some excellent individuals, Wright, Beltran, Santana, Reyes and Delgado when they play, but they seem to never put it together as a team, not as the Phillies do.
So I’m just narrowing my expectations. They’ll probably be able to play .500 ball until the return of Reyes and then maybe they’ll play little better than that. But they just don’t have enough players who play as if they care. Why should I get my hopes up?
In the meantime, I’ll watch. I’ll watch as if I were watching one of Joan Payson’s comic teams of yesteryear. A combination of hard luck and bad play has pretty much done them in for 2009. You can’t get good luck as they did Friday night and then throw it away, or better put, bumble it all away. If it takes the heart out of a fan, I’m sure it does much the same to the team.
But it’s just a game. Maybe Castillo should remember that. If he comes away with anything after this singular experience of his, it should be that. You’re supposed to be having fun, relishing the opportunity to show 50,000 fans just how good you are.
Let’s not forget that in our rush to forgive him. I know he said some things after the game that made everybody happy, and he performed pretty well in Game 2. But his gaffe was a classic choke. He was overwhelmed by the moment. That doesn’t bode well for the future.
It should have been a great Friday night. (Luis just caught a popup to derisive applause). Instead, what we got was misery. It should have been a story of Joba and the equally as stiff-necked Jorge Posada fighting for four innings, it should have been about Joe Girardi totally blowing the game by inserting Mariano Rivera into the game in the eighth, a move that totally backfired when David Wright ripped a double to right center. It should have been the tale of K-Rod vs. A-Rod, a bout clearly won by K-Rod as he induced the easy popup to second base.
But no, what we got was a stumblin’ bumblin’ Luis Castillo. You knew he was going to miss it from the start. His legs weren’t working right, you could see he was flustered, and for a second it looked as if he wouldn’t even get under the ball. But instead, he just opened his mitt as far as he could spread it, like a frying pan, and his hands proved as hard as one, as the ball bounced a foot in the air as Luis fell to the ground.
Let’s not forget how pitiful it was, that’s all. Yeah, he apologized. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I had been one of his advocates, willing to accept his shortcomings for his veteran presence. But not after Friday night. Luis can get together with his friend Ryan Church, go down to the bus station, and buy a ticket anywhere they want.
Yes, Ryan Church hit a big homer the other day. That’s just great. It was his first homer in eons. It’ll likely be his last homer for a while. Did I say homer? It’ll probably be one of the few hits he gets this month. Francesa keeps saying Manuel is picking on him. I say “Good”!
Church’s best point is that he’s usually ineffectual. The rest of the time, he loses games.
We’ve got Fernando Martinez now. Send Church packing. Send Castillo packing. They’re wonderful people but they either don’t touch third base on the way home or they don’t catch fly balls with the game on the line.
Understanding? Sorry, my plate is full. I can’t take any more. Of course I realize the Mets can’t really just drop the two of them, especially in their depleted state, but let’s not expect too much from them. Bat for Church in big spots and spell Castillo with defensive replacements for the rest of his contract. They both deserve the disdain.
We’ve all faced situations like Castillo’s. We all choke up a bit in critical situations, usually if we’re really not prepared. The job interviewer opens with “tell me about yourself” and if you really hadn’t thought about it, you might have a lot of trouble. Practice and experience make those moments go away. Ordinarily.
Two games that should have been in the book as wins were lost. Two big wins became two big losses. As I said, my plate is full. When your veterans can’t perform under pressure, you may as well pack it in.
As this is written, Santana is getting banged around and Martinez missed the cutoff man. While yesterday was the day of Fernando, Martinez and Nieve, today will not be a repeat.
It’s now 4-zip. It’s probably over, or may as well be. Maybe I’ll switch to the parade. Bernie’s playing guitar there and with no less than another Feliciano, the one who wants you to light his fire. Well, Wright got still another hit, but who should come up but ol’ rally-killin’ Church. He thus far today has grounded out on the first pitch he was offered. Typical day for Church. And he just struck out, what a surprise.
The news isn’t all bad for the Mets though. Omir Santos has been a pleasant surprise. I like Alex Cora. Sheffield looks bad quite a lot but then does pop one over the wall once in a while. He looks for the base on balls much too often and sometimes looks silly doing it.
The pitching’s been pretty good too. It’ll certainly help them stay in the race, but this club is not a winner. It’s a shame too. They have some excellent individuals, Wright, Beltran, Santana, Reyes and Delgado when they play, but they seem to never put it together as a team, not as the Phillies do.
So I’m just narrowing my expectations. They’ll probably be able to play .500 ball until the return of Reyes and then maybe they’ll play little better than that. But they just don’t have enough players who play as if they care. Why should I get my hopes up?
In the meantime, I’ll watch. I’ll watch as if I were watching one of Joan Payson’s comic teams of yesteryear. A combination of hard luck and bad play has pretty much done them in for 2009. You can’t get good luck as they did Friday night and then throw it away, or better put, bumble it all away. If it takes the heart out of a fan, I’m sure it does much the same to the team.
But it’s just a game. Maybe Castillo should remember that. If he comes away with anything after this singular experience of his, it should be that. You’re supposed to be having fun, relishing the opportunity to show 50,000 fans just how good you are.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Little Moves for a Long Stretch Run
Vacations are great but mine was interrupted by news from home, bad news mostly, especially from Pittsburgh, as the strange people manning the lineup for the Mets slogged their way through the schedule. Swimming’s nice, for sure, or just catching the rays (no, not those Rays), but as long as there’s access to a cable TV, you just can’t get away from how mediocre this sorry collection of a Mets team has become.
Today’s lineup doescn’t seem so bad though, not with Church back (even though he has a long way to go to regain my good graces) and manning right field, and Cora’s return to the lineup. And omigosh! There’s Brian Schneider catching. How’d they convince HIM to finally play? And holy cow! There’s the phee-nom, the guy too good to run out a fly ball, none other than Fernando Martinez.
Our heroes had a hell of a first inning though today, highlighted for me by doubles from two guys in my doghouse, Church and Martinez. Beltran has cooled off considerably though, and is now back to batting .340 after reaching the heights of the batting average leaders list. But at least the lineup looks like a major league lineup. That hasn’t been the case for some time now.
Of course the Phillies kept winning and winning, except when Lidge got involved. Lidge, the Phils non-closer, is keeping the Mets “in it”, although that term must be used advisedly, given all the injuries and the way they’ve been running the bases. That might be the saddest thing. Just when the team has needed to play smart, it’s been coming up dumb.
Still though, they are three games behind the Phils. That’s not too bad, and speaks to some strength throughout the organization. The only position that couldn’t be adequately manned lately was shortstop and that situation has just been ridiculous, something that couldn’t be dreamed up. Wilson Valdez has so far been almost adequate at filling in. But really, he’s been the fourth alternative, after Reyes, Cora and the other Martinez, Ramon.
All in all, we’ve seen a lot of outfielders, Sheffield and Reed and Tatis, and a lot of infielders and catchers. And nobody has really flopped, even Emil Brown, recently acquired and probably on his way out the door. Murphy has looked pretty good at first base after his adventures in left field, and, who knows, this team may even be ready to face the Phillies and Yanks in their next two series.
The pitching will match up pretty well, that’s for sure. Santana opens up against Happ, and the third game features Redding against old man Moyer. Game Two doesn’t look promising though, with Pelfrey going against Phils ace Cole Hamels. But, on paper anyway, the Mets should be able to pitch with the Phils and maybe take two out of three.
Then there’s the Yankees series and, well, who knows what could happen to our heroes between now and then. The biggest hurt for the blue team is the loss of J.J. Putz for a long, long time. But even with the loss of Putz, the Mets should be able to withstand it if Purcell, who has shown some ability, can handle the setup role. The Yanks aren’t loaded with relief themselves.
So lighten up, Mets fans. Sure, the Bombers have more power. They have some pretty fair starting pitching too, but if you can get into that relief corps, there’s a lot of room for cutting into a lead, or even extending a lead, if it could ever come to that. Just remember the rest of the division isn’t that great either, and the Phils can’t stay hot forever. Joe’s Dodgers have aleady provided a bit of the ice.
If the Mets can break even in these next two series, and there’s really no reason to think that they can’t, they’ll have survived and treaded water, if you will, while getting just killed with injuries. That’s not too shabby. Before you know it, Reyes will be back, and maybe he’ll really add some spark this time.
With Reyes back at short, with Castillo and Cora handling second, with a Murphy starting to look comfortable at first, and the hot-hitting David at third base, the Mets will once again be solid in the infield.
Church’s return, especially if he can start hitting, will help an outfield situation that really hasn’t looked too bad in the first place. Reed has looked good, and Tatis and Sheffield have been pretty much as expected. But the starting outfield should probably be Beltran, Church and Sheffield or Tatis and that’s not too problematic in my book. I think Sheffield hits better when he plays the field; it’s the DH position that he apparently can’t really handle.
It seems every Mets fan I turn to is looking for another bat. But surely with Beltran, Wright and Sheffield, the team should be able to score some runs. I’d much rather see a relief pitcher to replace Putz if there are any that become available. Delgado will be back before you know it (August).
The list of teams with big bats that go nowhere is a long one, much longer than the list of unsuccessful teams with good starters and an even stronger relief corps. Especially playing in CitiField, isn’t it built for pitching? Wouldn’t the Mets have less risk if they replaced the big arm they lost?
A move more typical of Omar was the one that moved reserve catcher Juan Castro to the White Sox for a pitcher, Lance Broadway. Hopefully, Mr. Broadway will soon live up to his name up in AAA Buffalo.
More than ever maybe, this pennant race is proving to be a long one, not unlike yesterday’s Belmont. The winner got the better trip while the stronger horse faltered in the stretch after showing some rankness after about 6 furlongs.
Maybe all this early misfortune will make this Mets horse a little stronger in the stretch.
Today’s lineup doescn’t seem so bad though, not with Church back (even though he has a long way to go to regain my good graces) and manning right field, and Cora’s return to the lineup. And omigosh! There’s Brian Schneider catching. How’d they convince HIM to finally play? And holy cow! There’s the phee-nom, the guy too good to run out a fly ball, none other than Fernando Martinez.
Our heroes had a hell of a first inning though today, highlighted for me by doubles from two guys in my doghouse, Church and Martinez. Beltran has cooled off considerably though, and is now back to batting .340 after reaching the heights of the batting average leaders list. But at least the lineup looks like a major league lineup. That hasn’t been the case for some time now.
Of course the Phillies kept winning and winning, except when Lidge got involved. Lidge, the Phils non-closer, is keeping the Mets “in it”, although that term must be used advisedly, given all the injuries and the way they’ve been running the bases. That might be the saddest thing. Just when the team has needed to play smart, it’s been coming up dumb.
Still though, they are three games behind the Phils. That’s not too bad, and speaks to some strength throughout the organization. The only position that couldn’t be adequately manned lately was shortstop and that situation has just been ridiculous, something that couldn’t be dreamed up. Wilson Valdez has so far been almost adequate at filling in. But really, he’s been the fourth alternative, after Reyes, Cora and the other Martinez, Ramon.
All in all, we’ve seen a lot of outfielders, Sheffield and Reed and Tatis, and a lot of infielders and catchers. And nobody has really flopped, even Emil Brown, recently acquired and probably on his way out the door. Murphy has looked pretty good at first base after his adventures in left field, and, who knows, this team may even be ready to face the Phillies and Yanks in their next two series.
The pitching will match up pretty well, that’s for sure. Santana opens up against Happ, and the third game features Redding against old man Moyer. Game Two doesn’t look promising though, with Pelfrey going against Phils ace Cole Hamels. But, on paper anyway, the Mets should be able to pitch with the Phils and maybe take two out of three.
Then there’s the Yankees series and, well, who knows what could happen to our heroes between now and then. The biggest hurt for the blue team is the loss of J.J. Putz for a long, long time. But even with the loss of Putz, the Mets should be able to withstand it if Purcell, who has shown some ability, can handle the setup role. The Yanks aren’t loaded with relief themselves.
So lighten up, Mets fans. Sure, the Bombers have more power. They have some pretty fair starting pitching too, but if you can get into that relief corps, there’s a lot of room for cutting into a lead, or even extending a lead, if it could ever come to that. Just remember the rest of the division isn’t that great either, and the Phils can’t stay hot forever. Joe’s Dodgers have aleady provided a bit of the ice.
If the Mets can break even in these next two series, and there’s really no reason to think that they can’t, they’ll have survived and treaded water, if you will, while getting just killed with injuries. That’s not too shabby. Before you know it, Reyes will be back, and maybe he’ll really add some spark this time.
With Reyes back at short, with Castillo and Cora handling second, with a Murphy starting to look comfortable at first, and the hot-hitting David at third base, the Mets will once again be solid in the infield.
Church’s return, especially if he can start hitting, will help an outfield situation that really hasn’t looked too bad in the first place. Reed has looked good, and Tatis and Sheffield have been pretty much as expected. But the starting outfield should probably be Beltran, Church and Sheffield or Tatis and that’s not too problematic in my book. I think Sheffield hits better when he plays the field; it’s the DH position that he apparently can’t really handle.
It seems every Mets fan I turn to is looking for another bat. But surely with Beltran, Wright and Sheffield, the team should be able to score some runs. I’d much rather see a relief pitcher to replace Putz if there are any that become available. Delgado will be back before you know it (August).
The list of teams with big bats that go nowhere is a long one, much longer than the list of unsuccessful teams with good starters and an even stronger relief corps. Especially playing in CitiField, isn’t it built for pitching? Wouldn’t the Mets have less risk if they replaced the big arm they lost?
A move more typical of Omar was the one that moved reserve catcher Juan Castro to the White Sox for a pitcher, Lance Broadway. Hopefully, Mr. Broadway will soon live up to his name up in AAA Buffalo.
More than ever maybe, this pennant race is proving to be a long one, not unlike yesterday’s Belmont. The winner got the better trip while the stronger horse faltered in the stretch after showing some rankness after about 6 furlongs.
Maybe all this early misfortune will make this Mets horse a little stronger in the stretch.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Mets Hanging On
It’s always nice to say something that hasn’t been said before, but it’s getting tougher. I did say last time that things for the Mets could only get better and surely, not too many people were saying THAT, not after having been swept by the Dodgers, not after having lost a game to a dummy missing a bag, not after seeing a bunch of errors at shortstop, and not after deciding to play a bad left fielder at first base.
But I figured things could only get better. The shortstop would get more comfortable, the bad left fielder could be better at first base, and guys like Sheffield, if they were to heat up, could provide just enough scoring to beat Boston at least once before going out to Washington and Florida, especially if the pitching held up.
The pitching did hold up too, especially that first guy in the rotation, none other than Johan Santana. He was a monster in that series opener, and there was no better moment than seeing him stare down and then shout down the ugly brute Youkilis after hitting him with a pitch. That was the moment things started to turn around.
Everything seemed easier after that. After hitting Youkilis, Santana struck out dangerous Jason Bay swinging for the third out. In the sixth he endured still another throwing error by Martinez and in the seventh he was superb, striking out Ortiz once again and fanning Youkilis, just in case there was any doubt who was tougher that day.
And the toughness seemed to carry into Game 2 as well. Pelfrey matched zeroes with Beckett after navigating a tough first inning, and when Papelbon came out for the ninth, it appeared that this game would be lost, despite our local boys’ best efforts. Sheffield managed to draw a walk but then Papelbon struck out Wright and Reed, and it looked to be all over but the shoutin’.
But it was not to be. Omir Santos showed that he could hit a fastball, driving a 97-mile offering over the fence and the Mets incredibly had the lead. And J.J. Putz closed it out. No problem.
Even the third game could have gone the Metsies way, as Wakefield was terrible and Redding wasn’t too bad. But Mets reliever Stokes was awful and the game became a rout. But the Mets could be happy, relatively speaking, because things could have been so much worse.
The Mets had survived. Then they managed to take the first game from the Nationals behind Sheffield, who’s hitting about .400 since taking over at the cleanup spot for Delgado. This game went more or less according to plan, from a pitching standpoint anyway, as Maine and the Mets survived some shaky pitching from Parnell. Putz and the incredibly reliable Francisco Rodriguez closed it out.
Is it possible that this team plays better when it’s pressed? It sure would seem that way. And that’s a good thing, keeping in mind the failures from the past. Now they may have one more huge problem to overcome though, that being the possible problems Beltran may experience with his knee. He’s having an MRI done today.
Losing Beltran for any extended period of time would be a killer though, especially if nobody else is able to come back, especially Reyes. The Mets could do nicely without Church, very nicely actually, and without Schneider too. And Sheffield has so far at least been able to spell Delgado in the lineup while Daniel Murphy has been great so far spelling him in the field.
But the Mets are running out of bodies, and there is no body that will spell Beltran, for Beltran does everything for this team, big hitting from both sides of the plate, smooth fielding, opportune running….everything, including leadership.
Although the media types would have you believe this is Wright’s team, that’s arrant nonsense. The real leader, if this team needs a leader, is Beltran, not that he really tries to lead. He just does almost everything the right way, the complete baseball player. When Wright is striking out with runners on base, Beltran keeps hitting. When Wright throws another ball away, Beltran just keeps making all the plays.
Not that I want to pick on Wright, quite the opposite! Wright’s great, a great team guy, a guy who plays hard all the time. There’s nobody I’d rather have as my third baseman. But he’s no Beltran and that’s no knock. Nobody is. What Wright is is an Anglo, and everybody from their own management to the media wants desperately to believe that an Anglo is the leader. And if he’s not, they will work to make things look that way.
To David’s credit, he does nothing to perpetuate the nonsense. When questioned, he says all the right things, but I’ve never heard Wright say he’s the leader. I’ve heard the idiots on ESPN say it, even Jerry Manuel has said it, but none of the players has signed up for Wright’s team.
Without Beltran, all bets are off….even if Fernando Martinez, the Mets great minor-leaguer, performs like the future star he is likely to be, I have to believe that he won’t have the same impact as would a missing Beltran, number 3 on your lineup card and pencilled in as the centerfielder and stolen base leader, speaking from a percentage basis.
But anything’s possible when you have pitching. Look at San Diego. They’ve won something like 10 in a row with just about nobody to fear in their lineup. Yeah, they have Adrian Gonzales and Brian Giles and then mostly nothing. But they do have Peavy and Young at the top of their rotation, supplemented by three talented youngsters. And they do have Heath Bell and Cla Meredith and some other nice relievers.
So let’s root for Maine and Pelfrey, Livan and Redding. Let’s look forward to good outings from K-Rod and Putz, Green and Feliciano.
And hope for at least one Carlos.
But I figured things could only get better. The shortstop would get more comfortable, the bad left fielder could be better at first base, and guys like Sheffield, if they were to heat up, could provide just enough scoring to beat Boston at least once before going out to Washington and Florida, especially if the pitching held up.
The pitching did hold up too, especially that first guy in the rotation, none other than Johan Santana. He was a monster in that series opener, and there was no better moment than seeing him stare down and then shout down the ugly brute Youkilis after hitting him with a pitch. That was the moment things started to turn around.
Everything seemed easier after that. After hitting Youkilis, Santana struck out dangerous Jason Bay swinging for the third out. In the sixth he endured still another throwing error by Martinez and in the seventh he was superb, striking out Ortiz once again and fanning Youkilis, just in case there was any doubt who was tougher that day.
And the toughness seemed to carry into Game 2 as well. Pelfrey matched zeroes with Beckett after navigating a tough first inning, and when Papelbon came out for the ninth, it appeared that this game would be lost, despite our local boys’ best efforts. Sheffield managed to draw a walk but then Papelbon struck out Wright and Reed, and it looked to be all over but the shoutin’.
But it was not to be. Omir Santos showed that he could hit a fastball, driving a 97-mile offering over the fence and the Mets incredibly had the lead. And J.J. Putz closed it out. No problem.
Even the third game could have gone the Metsies way, as Wakefield was terrible and Redding wasn’t too bad. But Mets reliever Stokes was awful and the game became a rout. But the Mets could be happy, relatively speaking, because things could have been so much worse.
The Mets had survived. Then they managed to take the first game from the Nationals behind Sheffield, who’s hitting about .400 since taking over at the cleanup spot for Delgado. This game went more or less according to plan, from a pitching standpoint anyway, as Maine and the Mets survived some shaky pitching from Parnell. Putz and the incredibly reliable Francisco Rodriguez closed it out.
Is it possible that this team plays better when it’s pressed? It sure would seem that way. And that’s a good thing, keeping in mind the failures from the past. Now they may have one more huge problem to overcome though, that being the possible problems Beltran may experience with his knee. He’s having an MRI done today.
Losing Beltran for any extended period of time would be a killer though, especially if nobody else is able to come back, especially Reyes. The Mets could do nicely without Church, very nicely actually, and without Schneider too. And Sheffield has so far at least been able to spell Delgado in the lineup while Daniel Murphy has been great so far spelling him in the field.
But the Mets are running out of bodies, and there is no body that will spell Beltran, for Beltran does everything for this team, big hitting from both sides of the plate, smooth fielding, opportune running….everything, including leadership.
Although the media types would have you believe this is Wright’s team, that’s arrant nonsense. The real leader, if this team needs a leader, is Beltran, not that he really tries to lead. He just does almost everything the right way, the complete baseball player. When Wright is striking out with runners on base, Beltran keeps hitting. When Wright throws another ball away, Beltran just keeps making all the plays.
Not that I want to pick on Wright, quite the opposite! Wright’s great, a great team guy, a guy who plays hard all the time. There’s nobody I’d rather have as my third baseman. But he’s no Beltran and that’s no knock. Nobody is. What Wright is is an Anglo, and everybody from their own management to the media wants desperately to believe that an Anglo is the leader. And if he’s not, they will work to make things look that way.
To David’s credit, he does nothing to perpetuate the nonsense. When questioned, he says all the right things, but I’ve never heard Wright say he’s the leader. I’ve heard the idiots on ESPN say it, even Jerry Manuel has said it, but none of the players has signed up for Wright’s team.
Without Beltran, all bets are off….even if Fernando Martinez, the Mets great minor-leaguer, performs like the future star he is likely to be, I have to believe that he won’t have the same impact as would a missing Beltran, number 3 on your lineup card and pencilled in as the centerfielder and stolen base leader, speaking from a percentage basis.
But anything’s possible when you have pitching. Look at San Diego. They’ve won something like 10 in a row with just about nobody to fear in their lineup. Yeah, they have Adrian Gonzales and Brian Giles and then mostly nothing. But they do have Peavy and Young at the top of their rotation, supplemented by three talented youngsters. And they do have Heath Bell and Cla Meredith and some other nice relievers.
So let’s root for Maine and Pelfrey, Livan and Redding. Let’s look forward to good outings from K-Rod and Putz, Green and Feliciano.
And hope for at least one Carlos.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Mets? Boo!!
I’m embarrassed. I root for a team that has no left fielder. I root for a team that can’t care enough to slide. I root for a team that almost never produces with the game on the line, a team with a stupid lineup and even more stupid players
This team looks for ways to lose. Who can root for a team like this? This was the worst Mets loss yet. And that’s saying something. They lost a game they should’ve won, that’s nothing strange, that’s happened lots of times before.
That was usually because of relief pitching though. Last night’s loss featured my favorite Met, Carlos Beltran, fail to slide at home in a tie game. That has to be a first. Almost as painful was seeing a guy I’ve been pulling for, Daniel Murphy, make another huge error in left field.
Some things we’ve seen before. We’re used to seeing Oliver Perez blow up in the fifth inning. We’re used to the whole team leaving men on base. But this 2009 version of the Mets seems to seek out failure with a verve seldom seen on a major league baseball field.
I’m off the Jerry Manuel bandwagon too. All the moves that worked last year are coming up deuces in 2009. I hate the lineup. Why does Beltran have to follow Delgado and precede Church? Church pays no attention to the man on base. Twice last night he took Beltran out of a stolen base.
And this lineup simply doesn’t work. Beltran has speed that shouldn’t be wasted in the fifth spot. Murphy should be sent down to AAA Buffalo. Maybe that will calm him down. He’s not such a powerhouse at the plate to warrant a major league team, supposedly a contending team, playing a guy who can’t field his position. I was all for giving him a chance. He’s had his chances and has fallen short. He’s not ready..
Give me Castillo at the 2 spot, especially now that he seems to have found his way at the plate. Wright can’t handle the three-spot. Wright doesn’t hit with men on base. I don’t care what his batting average is. Move him down in the lineup. Beltran should bat third. To recap, that’d be Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Church, Tatis, Castro and the pitcher.
While I’m ranting and raving, maybe Manuel should be put on notice too. His management of the team in Sunday’s game was ridiculous. We needed a bunt to move the runners over. We didn’t get it. Not only didn’t we get it but we had a guy at the plate who probably was incapable of doing it. That would be Tatis. We have a strong and versatile bench. It’s not being used.
I’m so sick of bad baseball. Maybe Beltran should sit down for a game or two as well. Let him know his butt is expendable. A player with his talent should be an inspiration, not a guy who makes the big mistake.
A contending team, a hopeful pennant winner, just can’t live with a guy in Murphy who has a coronary episode every time the ball comes his way. And he had his own chance to slide at the plate but passed, instead electing to step on the catcher’s hand? I still don’t know what he was trying to do.
Perez? What can you say? He walked in a run in the fifth and then the new relief guy, Fossum, walked in another. I’d recommend long relief for him if we had a stronger starting rotation. But we don’t. We have Maine, Pelfrey (maybe) and Livan Hernandez. Perez throws at one speed. He needs another pitch. And a brain.
I hate to say it but the Yankees are playing good baseball. Their centerfielder made one of the greatest catches I ever saw last night to rob Giambi of a triple….well, maybe a double being that it was Giambi.
Pettite looked good. Damon looked good. Heck, they all looked good. They play as if they care, even with all those stars. Too bad they’re playing in front of so many empty seats. With their new ticket pricing, the Yanks finally turned all that arrogance back on their fans. I listened to horror stories of Yankee fans all afternoon, already expensive $190 seats that were raised to $590. Unbelievable. That team and those fans deserve one another.
So maybe I should just calm down. I can still afford a Mets game. Their tix may be exorbitant too, but I could at least justify going to one or two games a season. If Mets tix jumped as the Yanks tix did, I’d abandon the team entirely. Talk about insults!
Manuel will maybe stop being such a genius and start doing some smart things again. And maybe he’ll start holding players accountable for their failures. God knows he needs to. And maybe Minaya will get him some honest-to-goodness help, not in the form of a Sheffield or a Fossum.
He really shouldn’t need any more help though. Manuel should be able to win games with the hand he was dealt. He’s got to instill a sense of urgency in his guys though. Virtually every game they’ve played thus far has been close. They never seem to pull away. They either eke out a close win or EEK! out a close loss.
As they did tonight. BOO!!
This team looks for ways to lose. Who can root for a team like this? This was the worst Mets loss yet. And that’s saying something. They lost a game they should’ve won, that’s nothing strange, that’s happened lots of times before.
That was usually because of relief pitching though. Last night’s loss featured my favorite Met, Carlos Beltran, fail to slide at home in a tie game. That has to be a first. Almost as painful was seeing a guy I’ve been pulling for, Daniel Murphy, make another huge error in left field.
Some things we’ve seen before. We’re used to seeing Oliver Perez blow up in the fifth inning. We’re used to the whole team leaving men on base. But this 2009 version of the Mets seems to seek out failure with a verve seldom seen on a major league baseball field.
I’m off the Jerry Manuel bandwagon too. All the moves that worked last year are coming up deuces in 2009. I hate the lineup. Why does Beltran have to follow Delgado and precede Church? Church pays no attention to the man on base. Twice last night he took Beltran out of a stolen base.
And this lineup simply doesn’t work. Beltran has speed that shouldn’t be wasted in the fifth spot. Murphy should be sent down to AAA Buffalo. Maybe that will calm him down. He’s not such a powerhouse at the plate to warrant a major league team, supposedly a contending team, playing a guy who can’t field his position. I was all for giving him a chance. He’s had his chances and has fallen short. He’s not ready..
Give me Castillo at the 2 spot, especially now that he seems to have found his way at the plate. Wright can’t handle the three-spot. Wright doesn’t hit with men on base. I don’t care what his batting average is. Move him down in the lineup. Beltran should bat third. To recap, that’d be Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright, Church, Tatis, Castro and the pitcher.
While I’m ranting and raving, maybe Manuel should be put on notice too. His management of the team in Sunday’s game was ridiculous. We needed a bunt to move the runners over. We didn’t get it. Not only didn’t we get it but we had a guy at the plate who probably was incapable of doing it. That would be Tatis. We have a strong and versatile bench. It’s not being used.
I’m so sick of bad baseball. Maybe Beltran should sit down for a game or two as well. Let him know his butt is expendable. A player with his talent should be an inspiration, not a guy who makes the big mistake.
A contending team, a hopeful pennant winner, just can’t live with a guy in Murphy who has a coronary episode every time the ball comes his way. And he had his own chance to slide at the plate but passed, instead electing to step on the catcher’s hand? I still don’t know what he was trying to do.
Perez? What can you say? He walked in a run in the fifth and then the new relief guy, Fossum, walked in another. I’d recommend long relief for him if we had a stronger starting rotation. But we don’t. We have Maine, Pelfrey (maybe) and Livan Hernandez. Perez throws at one speed. He needs another pitch. And a brain.
I hate to say it but the Yankees are playing good baseball. Their centerfielder made one of the greatest catches I ever saw last night to rob Giambi of a triple….well, maybe a double being that it was Giambi.
Pettite looked good. Damon looked good. Heck, they all looked good. They play as if they care, even with all those stars. Too bad they’re playing in front of so many empty seats. With their new ticket pricing, the Yanks finally turned all that arrogance back on their fans. I listened to horror stories of Yankee fans all afternoon, already expensive $190 seats that were raised to $590. Unbelievable. That team and those fans deserve one another.
So maybe I should just calm down. I can still afford a Mets game. Their tix may be exorbitant too, but I could at least justify going to one or two games a season. If Mets tix jumped as the Yanks tix did, I’d abandon the team entirely. Talk about insults!
Manuel will maybe stop being such a genius and start doing some smart things again. And maybe he’ll start holding players accountable for their failures. God knows he needs to. And maybe Minaya will get him some honest-to-goodness help, not in the form of a Sheffield or a Fossum.
He really shouldn’t need any more help though. Manuel should be able to win games with the hand he was dealt. He’s got to instill a sense of urgency in his guys though. Virtually every game they’ve played thus far has been close. They never seem to pull away. They either eke out a close win or EEK! out a close loss.
As they did tonight. BOO!!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Whatta Relief!!
For a Mets fan, nothing could be better than this opening to the season. The first game could have been straight from the desk of Omar Minaya. Santana gets his 6 or thereabouts, Green gets it to Putz and Rodriguez. All was right in the world of blue.
After a day for us Mets fans to contemplate our good fortune,we got to witness a game that was probably indicative of many games to come. The starter was good but not great, or not careful, and Pedro Feliciano was his old self; that is to say he gave up two more runs before handing it over to any competent reliever. And then the competent guys, Putz and K-Rod again, were either tired or just unlucky and ran into lots of adventures before the game mercifully ended.
Luckily for the Metsies, they got some tremendous production on the other side of things, especially from the two Carloses. Nine runs is awfully hard for any team to overcome and certainly the Reds were not equal to the task last night. But they put a real scare into K-Rod. In fact, I thought he was giving us his best Aaron Heilmann impression. He looked as if he was afraid to put the ball anywhere near the plate.
Yeah, all you have to be is a little off, and a little unlucky, and you can easily lose. The first base umpire made a bad call, or a homey call I tend to think, ruling that Delgado had left the bag too early, before he had the ball, before pegging a throw over to third to try to nail Cinci’s new star Brandon Phillips. Replays showed the umpire was dead wrong and my letter to the Commissioner is on its way.
So, in lieu (does anybody say instead anymore) of two outs and a man on third with the score 9-7, it became one out and a man on first and third. Big difference! Especially for a K-Rod who was struggling to say the least. He went 2-0 on half the Cinci lineup, seemingly following the John Franco school of avoiding the plate at all costs, hoping the batter either swings or the umpire gives him the ol’ 6-inches off the plate strike.
K-Rod got neither the wild swings from the batters nor the corner calls.. Soon the bases were loaded. But K-Rod showed his toughness and smarts by striking out Gonzalez on a high hard one and then getting a little lucky when Nix blasted a pitch to the deepest part of centerfield.
So the Mets can win even when their starter doesn’t pitch well. And even when their relievers don’t knock anyone’s socks off, and that was definitely the case last night. And even when the horrible umpires in MLB do their best thing, which is to miss obvious calls.
And that will be important because the Mets starters just aren’t that good, despite some things I’ve heard to the contrary. For example, I’ve heard that Pelfrey could be a number 2 starter anywhere. That’s baloney. A number 3 or 4 starter maybe but not a legitimate 2. He may be the best of the rest though.
Just how bad are the rest? Given a choice of pitchers on a particular day, of the three, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Livan Hernandez, I’d pitch Livan. I have very little confidence in Maine, he’s with his head in the clouds all the time and Perez is just crazy, especially after the fourth or fifth inning. I’d gladly select Ollie to pitch a playoff game but not those regular season yawners, yawners to him anyway.
The bats won’t always be as prolific and the pitchers won’t always be good, but given last night’s game as an example, opponents will still have to either score a lot of runs or get by those last two stalwarts, Putz and K-Rod. And that won’t be too easy.
Yankee fans are dying right now, of course, what with CC’s inauspicious opener and Wang’s bashing last night. You can almost bet that A.J. Burnet will have trouble too, if not for the season, at least for Game 3. There’s a lot of pressure pitching for New York and none of these fellows will find it terribly easy to finally get comfortable.
As I’ve said before, Sabathia starts slowly and if the papers (I hate media, don’t you) beat him up in April, there may not be much of CC left for May through September, even as big as he is. And if he should have an extended bad period, which he has had before, it’s all over but the shoutin’.
Texeira’s done nothing yet either, and Colby Rasmus is not the stuff that dreams are made of. And I don’t like their batting order either.
Jeter is not a leadoff hitter. He’s not fast enough. He’s no real threat on the bases. Damon isn’t The Flash reincarnated either but he can lead off. Jeter should bat 2nd. He’s got that good bat control and he’s smart and unselfish. The 3-4-5 of Teixeira, Matsui and Posada is the best the Yankees can send up there right now, but it certainly isn’t an awe-inspiring middle. For example, I’d prefer any combination of Wright, Beltran and Delgado.
Then there’s the 6 spot though the 9 spot. Cano’s at 6 but he should probably move up in the order, Nady’s been at the 7 spot but he’s a bigger threat to me than Posada at 5, in the long run anyway. Then there’s Ransom and Gardner at 8 and 9 and I’d certainly have to agree with that for now.
But, until Arod returns, I’d like to see Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Matsui, Nady, Posada, and either Cano and Ransom or the other way around depending on who has less speed. Arod’s return will not only solidify the center of the lineup but tend to extend the strength through the order.
And how ‘bout some relief?
After a day for us Mets fans to contemplate our good fortune,we got to witness a game that was probably indicative of many games to come. The starter was good but not great, or not careful, and Pedro Feliciano was his old self; that is to say he gave up two more runs before handing it over to any competent reliever. And then the competent guys, Putz and K-Rod again, were either tired or just unlucky and ran into lots of adventures before the game mercifully ended.
Luckily for the Metsies, they got some tremendous production on the other side of things, especially from the two Carloses. Nine runs is awfully hard for any team to overcome and certainly the Reds were not equal to the task last night. But they put a real scare into K-Rod. In fact, I thought he was giving us his best Aaron Heilmann impression. He looked as if he was afraid to put the ball anywhere near the plate.
Yeah, all you have to be is a little off, and a little unlucky, and you can easily lose. The first base umpire made a bad call, or a homey call I tend to think, ruling that Delgado had left the bag too early, before he had the ball, before pegging a throw over to third to try to nail Cinci’s new star Brandon Phillips. Replays showed the umpire was dead wrong and my letter to the Commissioner is on its way.
So, in lieu (does anybody say instead anymore) of two outs and a man on third with the score 9-7, it became one out and a man on first and third. Big difference! Especially for a K-Rod who was struggling to say the least. He went 2-0 on half the Cinci lineup, seemingly following the John Franco school of avoiding the plate at all costs, hoping the batter either swings or the umpire gives him the ol’ 6-inches off the plate strike.
K-Rod got neither the wild swings from the batters nor the corner calls.. Soon the bases were loaded. But K-Rod showed his toughness and smarts by striking out Gonzalez on a high hard one and then getting a little lucky when Nix blasted a pitch to the deepest part of centerfield.
So the Mets can win even when their starter doesn’t pitch well. And even when their relievers don’t knock anyone’s socks off, and that was definitely the case last night. And even when the horrible umpires in MLB do their best thing, which is to miss obvious calls.
And that will be important because the Mets starters just aren’t that good, despite some things I’ve heard to the contrary. For example, I’ve heard that Pelfrey could be a number 2 starter anywhere. That’s baloney. A number 3 or 4 starter maybe but not a legitimate 2. He may be the best of the rest though.
Just how bad are the rest? Given a choice of pitchers on a particular day, of the three, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Livan Hernandez, I’d pitch Livan. I have very little confidence in Maine, he’s with his head in the clouds all the time and Perez is just crazy, especially after the fourth or fifth inning. I’d gladly select Ollie to pitch a playoff game but not those regular season yawners, yawners to him anyway.
The bats won’t always be as prolific and the pitchers won’t always be good, but given last night’s game as an example, opponents will still have to either score a lot of runs or get by those last two stalwarts, Putz and K-Rod. And that won’t be too easy.
Yankee fans are dying right now, of course, what with CC’s inauspicious opener and Wang’s bashing last night. You can almost bet that A.J. Burnet will have trouble too, if not for the season, at least for Game 3. There’s a lot of pressure pitching for New York and none of these fellows will find it terribly easy to finally get comfortable.
As I’ve said before, Sabathia starts slowly and if the papers (I hate media, don’t you) beat him up in April, there may not be much of CC left for May through September, even as big as he is. And if he should have an extended bad period, which he has had before, it’s all over but the shoutin’.
Texeira’s done nothing yet either, and Colby Rasmus is not the stuff that dreams are made of. And I don’t like their batting order either.
Jeter is not a leadoff hitter. He’s not fast enough. He’s no real threat on the bases. Damon isn’t The Flash reincarnated either but he can lead off. Jeter should bat 2nd. He’s got that good bat control and he’s smart and unselfish. The 3-4-5 of Teixeira, Matsui and Posada is the best the Yankees can send up there right now, but it certainly isn’t an awe-inspiring middle. For example, I’d prefer any combination of Wright, Beltran and Delgado.
Then there’s the 6 spot though the 9 spot. Cano’s at 6 but he should probably move up in the order, Nady’s been at the 7 spot but he’s a bigger threat to me than Posada at 5, in the long run anyway. Then there’s Ransom and Gardner at 8 and 9 and I’d certainly have to agree with that for now.
But, until Arod returns, I’d like to see Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Matsui, Nady, Posada, and either Cano and Ransom or the other way around depending on who has less speed. Arod’s return will not only solidify the center of the lineup but tend to extend the strength through the order.
And how ‘bout some relief?
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