Who needs a theme? Isn’t it better to just comment on the things that pop into your head, the things occupying the cerebral bits right now? I think so. It’s an intriguing format, especially at the convergence of seasons. I mean, right off the bat, I’m dying to say some more on Plaxico, on Ryan Church, Michael Vick, Brett Favre….maybe even clunker cars.
I can’t help myself, I feel bad for Plaxico. I just heard he accepted a 2-year jail sentence. I hope all you Giants fans remember who put him there. Bloomberg, nobody else. Burress gets two years for stupidity. Bloomberg gets not even a hand slap for obstructing justice, or dictating justice, just the way he’ll be dictating how your kids are educated.
Meanwhile, Plax goes to jail….as an example. Other perpetrators of the same crime don’t get these kinds of sentences. It doesn’t matter though to our “justice” system.
And Plaxico may never get out. With his attitude, he’ll be in solitary for the entire time. While I’m sure that there are people out there who’ll applaud the verdict, the same kind of people who get upset when somebody else is late for work, or who doesn’t always show up a half-hour early, the same kind of people who hate smokers and drinkers and anybody else who seems to be getting away with anything, the officious people who seem to be everywhere these days.
One thing more I’ll say is that Plaxico was a great wide receiver who did his job well. He caught the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl. He accepted his good fortune with grace and humility. He was also a young and impressionable person who may have also been a bit paranoid of his own security. We know he took advantage of rules he thought were stupid.
Plax didn’t deserve to get two years.
In lighter matters, Ryan Church of course comes to mind because he was recently in a tiff about Jerry Manuel saying that David Wright and Church were two different cases. He seemed to think Jerry was insinuating that Wright tried hard all the time and was anxious to return while Church was just a taker, somebody who’d take your money for two years, play lousy baseball and even forget to touch the bases. I mean, what else could he have been thinking? If Jerry didn’t spell it out, Church certainly did.
Michael Vick is another poster boy for dumb, dumb, dumb, at least mostly dumb rather than cruel. I don’t suppose he ever thought about dogs as living beings, but his actions really only mimicked those of countless English (and other cultures) behaviors over many centuries. Sure, it was illegal, but it wasn’t enforced, was it? Until now. I have less sympathy for Vick than Burress but they’re both being used.
Michael Vick was the best college football player I ever saw. He was also a very good QB in the professional ranks, but he too, like Plax, was somebody who couldn’t really fully utilize his natural abilities in a “system”. Vince Young, Tarvaris Jackson, and yes, even Brett Favre also come immediately to mind as having similar situations, albeit not on the same scale. None of these I mention had the athletic ability of Michael Vick.
Anybody who’s ever read my column knows my feelings on Favre. He’s a taker too. He’ll take it all and drink it up. Painkillers, money, adulation, press conferences….pretty much everything but practice. He doesn’t take to that too well, rather like Allen Iverson really. Like others once hooked on painkillers, he’s equal parts narcissist and paranoid. Ask him if he ever dreamed he’s Jesus. My bet is his answer would be in the affirmative.
Favre stunk out the joint as a Jet. But there he was Sunday after Sunday ruining his team’s chances. He turned a playoff run into a road to perdition. He was outplayed by the man he replaced, Chad Pennington, who handled the reins for a less talented football team. But Chad was a leader, much as Eli had been a leader the year before.
But it’s a symbiotic relationship, this love-in of the Vikings and Favre. The Vikings are selling a lot more tickets. That’s their take. Favre gets an opportunity to fulfill one of his dreams, no doubt, to be the hero while he leads his new team over the Packers to take the Division Championship.
Can he do it? I don’t think so. Even with the best running game in the league and the best running back, Adrian Petersen, Favre will throw the big interception much as he’s done so many times before, as a younger man. But he gets to keep number 4. He already took that from the incumbent Viking inhabiting the jersey. And he’ll make one more tired old retirement speech. He’ll have one more tired old season.
Clunker cars? Yeah, I had two but it’s now down to one. I think everybody should take advantage of this program. Under a 2-party system that usually only rewards big corporations, doctors, lawyers, foreign governments and insurance companies, this is a freebie for you, one of the few freebies you’ll ever see. I got $3500 for my 1993 Jeep on a new Scion and could have gotten $4500 if I had bought a Yaris.
Don’t think for a moment that the U.S. government was trying to help you directly though. This was a measure to help the big automakers while we are just contingent beneficiaries. Until we learn to back independents, this will be our fate. And how many Obama’s do you suppose there are? Bush would have found another way, a more patrician-friendly way, something that would have reduced taxes (on the rich) while adding to the national debt.
And then there’s my Mets. The bloom is firmly off the rose after watching Bobby Parnell get blasted by the Braves. We can only hope it was an aberration; even Halladay had a bad day.
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
From Bad to Worse?
The Mets season is over. I’m declaring them dead.
They’re not the Mets anyway, not the Mets I expected and not even the Mets I foresaw if they had some bad luck. Even though I realized at the season’s inception that the Mets had been awfully lucky over the last few years from an injury standpoint, especially with their core players, I never thought they’d lose them all.
Even their ace pitcher can’t win these days. Santana has lost four of his last six. There is just no hitting usually, and last night the fielding went with it. It’s really too sad a story to stay with. You could liken it to hanging around a hospital. That’s not for me, especially when there are so many other stories, so many other channels.
For good reasons or bad, Omar has decided to stand pat with a AAA team. He’s done it too long. I’m tired of watching minor league ball. The only baseball-related things I can look forward to this year are the All-Star game and my fantasy team, which has been almost as unlucky as the Mets.
This somewhat stubborn refusal by the Mets to get better comes at a bad time. Oh sure, there has been Wimbledon and the U.S. soccer team, the NBA Draft and some other stuff, but really, it’s kind of difficult, y’know? I mean, how excited can I really get over the Williams sisters? The gracious Venus is as easy to root for as her younger arrogant sister is not. And unless and until an American man can break into the top echelon, it’s tough to follow the men’s action.
As for soccer, after cheering like a mad man for the likes of Donovan and Dempsey, Howard, Spector and Davies, only to watch their heartbreak in the final against Brazil, can I really stay motivated until the World Cup? I don’t think so. It was a great game though, and coming on the heels of their victory over Spain, they played valiantly for the full 90 minutes, even if their efforts were fruitful for only 45. They just seemed to run out of gas in that second half, especially after giving up that almost impossible to stop goal in the first minute or so of the second half.
But it’s the beginning of July and I shouldn’t have to amuse myself with other sports. The American pastime is still baseball, isn’t it? You wouldn’t know it from watching the National League action in New York though. Did I say action? I don’t know that you can call it that.
The Evil Empire is impossible to root for, at least for this fan, and maybe I’ll take notice if they should fire Cashman, or reduce ticket prices, or just shut up about how many pitches have been thrown, how many strikes, how many balls and on and on. They won’t catch the Red Sox anyway, this despite Papelbon’s failure to close out last night’s deal.
Besides, the team I can root for down the stretch is the Brewers. That became obvious to me last night as I watched those big dudes from Milwaukee, Hart and Hardy and Fielder and Braun. You even get sausage races if you’re a Brewer fan. They’ve got representative pitching, at the very least, and the players seem to have character.
In the American League, I’ll continue to pull for the Rangers, another lovable team that’s been together now for several years of mostly hard luck and is now coming of age, even without their superstar Josh Hamilton. The Twins are a nice team too, with lots of good pitching and a similar situation with home-grown guys making it big. And, last but not least, they pay absolutely no attention to pitch counts.
The Yankee obsession with pitch counts continued last night as Joba reached about a hundred pitches after 5 1/3 innings. The idiots on the bench took him out again, of course, and the Yanks relievers took over. Last night, they did the job and Bruney eventually picked up the win as Arod hit a gargantuan 2-run homer. But those idiots on the bench and in the GM’s office sure put a lot of pressure on Joba. You could look at each failed Joba performance as a self-fulfilled prophecy.
Aah! Who am I kidding? I’ll still be sucked in to the Mets action. Even now, I find myself with the tube in the background, watching Gary and Keith recap yesterday’s failures. Now Jerry’s talking about the need for them to relax a little bit, an almost impossible wish, given the whole Mash-unit situation.
Okay, my favorite blue and orange team is still only 2 games below .500 and just four games behind the Phils, a game behind the Marlins, a game ahead of the Braves. Is that really such a good reason to despair? After all, if we Mets fans know anything, it’s that big leads can be lost, and a lot depends on how the team plays in September.
And Beltran’s bone bruise is indeed just a bruise. Reyes and Delgado will be returning too. The pitching staff remains fairly strong, strong enough to compete in this weak NL East anyway. So I’ll wait and see. I’ll be a true fan.
But DeRosa was right there for the taking. And Holliday is supposed to be available. Couldn’t management see its way clear to picking up somebody? Wouldn’t even one addition to the roster help these guys out a little. When Church and Schneider are the glue holding a team together, that’s pretty sad.
Okay, that’s enough. Besides, Wright is up now. God willing, they’ll pitch to him.
They’re not the Mets anyway, not the Mets I expected and not even the Mets I foresaw if they had some bad luck. Even though I realized at the season’s inception that the Mets had been awfully lucky over the last few years from an injury standpoint, especially with their core players, I never thought they’d lose them all.
Even their ace pitcher can’t win these days. Santana has lost four of his last six. There is just no hitting usually, and last night the fielding went with it. It’s really too sad a story to stay with. You could liken it to hanging around a hospital. That’s not for me, especially when there are so many other stories, so many other channels.
For good reasons or bad, Omar has decided to stand pat with a AAA team. He’s done it too long. I’m tired of watching minor league ball. The only baseball-related things I can look forward to this year are the All-Star game and my fantasy team, which has been almost as unlucky as the Mets.
This somewhat stubborn refusal by the Mets to get better comes at a bad time. Oh sure, there has been Wimbledon and the U.S. soccer team, the NBA Draft and some other stuff, but really, it’s kind of difficult, y’know? I mean, how excited can I really get over the Williams sisters? The gracious Venus is as easy to root for as her younger arrogant sister is not. And unless and until an American man can break into the top echelon, it’s tough to follow the men’s action.
As for soccer, after cheering like a mad man for the likes of Donovan and Dempsey, Howard, Spector and Davies, only to watch their heartbreak in the final against Brazil, can I really stay motivated until the World Cup? I don’t think so. It was a great game though, and coming on the heels of their victory over Spain, they played valiantly for the full 90 minutes, even if their efforts were fruitful for only 45. They just seemed to run out of gas in that second half, especially after giving up that almost impossible to stop goal in the first minute or so of the second half.
But it’s the beginning of July and I shouldn’t have to amuse myself with other sports. The American pastime is still baseball, isn’t it? You wouldn’t know it from watching the National League action in New York though. Did I say action? I don’t know that you can call it that.
The Evil Empire is impossible to root for, at least for this fan, and maybe I’ll take notice if they should fire Cashman, or reduce ticket prices, or just shut up about how many pitches have been thrown, how many strikes, how many balls and on and on. They won’t catch the Red Sox anyway, this despite Papelbon’s failure to close out last night’s deal.
Besides, the team I can root for down the stretch is the Brewers. That became obvious to me last night as I watched those big dudes from Milwaukee, Hart and Hardy and Fielder and Braun. You even get sausage races if you’re a Brewer fan. They’ve got representative pitching, at the very least, and the players seem to have character.
In the American League, I’ll continue to pull for the Rangers, another lovable team that’s been together now for several years of mostly hard luck and is now coming of age, even without their superstar Josh Hamilton. The Twins are a nice team too, with lots of good pitching and a similar situation with home-grown guys making it big. And, last but not least, they pay absolutely no attention to pitch counts.
The Yankee obsession with pitch counts continued last night as Joba reached about a hundred pitches after 5 1/3 innings. The idiots on the bench took him out again, of course, and the Yanks relievers took over. Last night, they did the job and Bruney eventually picked up the win as Arod hit a gargantuan 2-run homer. But those idiots on the bench and in the GM’s office sure put a lot of pressure on Joba. You could look at each failed Joba performance as a self-fulfilled prophecy.
Aah! Who am I kidding? I’ll still be sucked in to the Mets action. Even now, I find myself with the tube in the background, watching Gary and Keith recap yesterday’s failures. Now Jerry’s talking about the need for them to relax a little bit, an almost impossible wish, given the whole Mash-unit situation.
Okay, my favorite blue and orange team is still only 2 games below .500 and just four games behind the Phils, a game behind the Marlins, a game ahead of the Braves. Is that really such a good reason to despair? After all, if we Mets fans know anything, it’s that big leads can be lost, and a lot depends on how the team plays in September.
And Beltran’s bone bruise is indeed just a bruise. Reyes and Delgado will be returning too. The pitching staff remains fairly strong, strong enough to compete in this weak NL East anyway. So I’ll wait and see. I’ll be a true fan.
But DeRosa was right there for the taking. And Holliday is supposed to be available. Couldn’t management see its way clear to picking up somebody? Wouldn’t even one addition to the roster help these guys out a little. When Church and Schneider are the glue holding a team together, that’s pretty sad.
Okay, that’s enough. Besides, Wright is up now. God willing, they’ll pitch to him.
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.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Is This the Bottom?
Let’s see, first base, um, we have no first baseman. I mean, Murphy played the position, and very nicely too for his first time, or any time, but he doesn’t hit like a first sacker. Second base? Well, Luis Castillo is ok, I guess; doesn’t do much with the bat though. Shortstop? Well, nope. We have no shortstop. Jose is hurt and Cora is hurt. At third we have Wright and in center we have old reliable Mr. Beltran.
Who played left and right fields? Argh, who cares? Whoever they were, either Jose Pagan or Ramon Martinez or Church or any one of seemingly countless little guys with bats in their hand. The catchers do nothing either. Castro has been very boring, Schneider’s always hurt. Omir Santos has nothing.
This has got to be the bottom. Even if the Metsies managed to pull this last game out, things would still have been pretty grim. Only the pitchers have made things look respectable, but right now the Oakland A’s or the Giants look like Murderers Row compared to this horrid lineup of pushovers.
Well, it was the Dodgers, I guess, and they have pretty good pitching, to say the least. But things don’t get any better. Now our local heroes head out to Boston. It’ll be Johan Santana against Dice K coming off the DL in the opener and that might be the only possibility of an advantage in that series.
After the opener, hopefully a win, then it’ll be Pelfrey against Beckett and Redding against Wakefield. I can’t wait to see these cream puff Met batters try to hit Wakefield’s knuckler. If the Mets can win one of the three, it’ll be amazing.
Talk radio is driving me crazy too. Nothing like rubbing it in. Nothing like hearing how bad Minaya’s doing and Manuel’s doing ad infinitum. Manuel especially is taking a beating, and he really doesn’t deserve it, not with this lineup. I thought he could have batted Sheffield in the 9th cream puff number nine but, you may have guessed, Sheffield hadn’t taken batting practice as he was not feeling well.
This is excruciating though, I must say. Listening to all these Yankee fans, pretending to be Mets fans, calling in to THE FAN to urge Minaya to pick up Nick Johnson at first base. Nick friggin’ Johnson. The only guy who ever thought Nick Johnson was anything special was Brian Cashman. He was deluded enough to think Johnson was better than David Ortiz.
And speaking of Big Papi, he finally broke out of his homerless slump tonight by putting one over the wall in centerfield. So our boys will have him to worry about too. It wasn’t enough that they had Bay and Youkilis killing the ball, along with all the other real live threats in their lineup, Ellsbury, Drew, Lowell, et al.
Geez, maybe this isn’t the bottom after all. Maybe we won’t even take one game in Boston. Santana did get knocked around a bit in his last win. And Dice K, if he’s returning off the DL, has probably regained his form; otherwise, why bring him back?
Well, I guess it’s high time to look at the bright side. There must be a silver lining somewhere, or maybe just a copper lining. Church can’t be as bad as he looks, can he? He can only get better, going from horrible to mediocre would be nice.
And Daniel Murphy, judging by his debut at first base, really may have found his spot, which can only help him at the plate. Feeling comfortable is one of the keys to hitting. You have to be relaxed. You have to feel good about yourself, much as all those steroid abusers feel before crushing another dinger.
And Sheffield will be back Friday. He’ll make that lineup a little deeper. Reed really isn’t that bad. Ramon Martinez will have gotten that first game out of his system. That’ll give the Mets honest-to-God major leaguers at every position. Let’s not think about depth at this juncture.
And maybe after winning 11 in a row, maybe a huge swing back to the depths was in order with the universe.
But what happened to hitting the ball to the opposite field? Church NEVER tries it. Neither does Tatis. Neither does Castro. And they look foolish trying to pull outside pitches. They deserve benching, but the Mets can’t afford to bench anyone and still have major leaguers on the field.
But a change is needed. And not in management, in players on the field. I’ve seen enough of Church for sure. Dump him, just as he dumped the Mets the other night. I’m tired of seeing his sorry butt on the field, and even more tired of having people feel sorry for him. He’s a bad player. Get rid of him. Get another outfielder.
And while we’re at it, why not dump Schneider too? He obviously doesn’t play too much anyway. Sore fingernail, sore butt, give me a break. El Dumpo for him too. Undo that trade made for Lastings Milledge and LoDuca. Boy, do I ever miss LoDuca.
The good news, though, is that this can’t go on forever. And there are some good things happening in other sports. Hey, Orlando beat the Cavs in one hell of a Game 1. The Knicks and Nets will both get some pretty nice basketball players in the draft.
And if that’s not good enough for you, you can always check out Mark Sanchez in the latest GQ. WOOHOO!!
Who played left and right fields? Argh, who cares? Whoever they were, either Jose Pagan or Ramon Martinez or Church or any one of seemingly countless little guys with bats in their hand. The catchers do nothing either. Castro has been very boring, Schneider’s always hurt. Omir Santos has nothing.
This has got to be the bottom. Even if the Metsies managed to pull this last game out, things would still have been pretty grim. Only the pitchers have made things look respectable, but right now the Oakland A’s or the Giants look like Murderers Row compared to this horrid lineup of pushovers.
Well, it was the Dodgers, I guess, and they have pretty good pitching, to say the least. But things don’t get any better. Now our local heroes head out to Boston. It’ll be Johan Santana against Dice K coming off the DL in the opener and that might be the only possibility of an advantage in that series.
After the opener, hopefully a win, then it’ll be Pelfrey against Beckett and Redding against Wakefield. I can’t wait to see these cream puff Met batters try to hit Wakefield’s knuckler. If the Mets can win one of the three, it’ll be amazing.
Talk radio is driving me crazy too. Nothing like rubbing it in. Nothing like hearing how bad Minaya’s doing and Manuel’s doing ad infinitum. Manuel especially is taking a beating, and he really doesn’t deserve it, not with this lineup. I thought he could have batted Sheffield in the 9th cream puff number nine but, you may have guessed, Sheffield hadn’t taken batting practice as he was not feeling well.
This is excruciating though, I must say. Listening to all these Yankee fans, pretending to be Mets fans, calling in to THE FAN to urge Minaya to pick up Nick Johnson at first base. Nick friggin’ Johnson. The only guy who ever thought Nick Johnson was anything special was Brian Cashman. He was deluded enough to think Johnson was better than David Ortiz.
And speaking of Big Papi, he finally broke out of his homerless slump tonight by putting one over the wall in centerfield. So our boys will have him to worry about too. It wasn’t enough that they had Bay and Youkilis killing the ball, along with all the other real live threats in their lineup, Ellsbury, Drew, Lowell, et al.
Geez, maybe this isn’t the bottom after all. Maybe we won’t even take one game in Boston. Santana did get knocked around a bit in his last win. And Dice K, if he’s returning off the DL, has probably regained his form; otherwise, why bring him back?
Well, I guess it’s high time to look at the bright side. There must be a silver lining somewhere, or maybe just a copper lining. Church can’t be as bad as he looks, can he? He can only get better, going from horrible to mediocre would be nice.
And Daniel Murphy, judging by his debut at first base, really may have found his spot, which can only help him at the plate. Feeling comfortable is one of the keys to hitting. You have to be relaxed. You have to feel good about yourself, much as all those steroid abusers feel before crushing another dinger.
And Sheffield will be back Friday. He’ll make that lineup a little deeper. Reed really isn’t that bad. Ramon Martinez will have gotten that first game out of his system. That’ll give the Mets honest-to-God major leaguers at every position. Let’s not think about depth at this juncture.
And maybe after winning 11 in a row, maybe a huge swing back to the depths was in order with the universe.
But what happened to hitting the ball to the opposite field? Church NEVER tries it. Neither does Tatis. Neither does Castro. And they look foolish trying to pull outside pitches. They deserve benching, but the Mets can’t afford to bench anyone and still have major leaguers on the field.
But a change is needed. And not in management, in players on the field. I’ve seen enough of Church for sure. Dump him, just as he dumped the Mets the other night. I’m tired of seeing his sorry butt on the field, and even more tired of having people feel sorry for him. He’s a bad player. Get rid of him. Get another outfielder.
And while we’re at it, why not dump Schneider too? He obviously doesn’t play too much anyway. Sore fingernail, sore butt, give me a break. El Dumpo for him too. Undo that trade made for Lastings Milledge and LoDuca. Boy, do I ever miss LoDuca.
The good news, though, is that this can’t go on forever. And there are some good things happening in other sports. Hey, Orlando beat the Cavs in one hell of a Game 1. The Knicks and Nets will both get some pretty nice basketball players in the draft.
And if that’s not good enough for you, you can always check out Mark Sanchez in the latest GQ. WOOHOO!!
Monday, May 4, 2009
The Answer - Playing Smart Baseball
Let ‘em play. It’s May 4th, for Pete’s sake. All the brilliant sports-riders know best, of course. The Mets have no heart. The Mets have no edge. The Mets have no pitching. Oliver Perez is a bum. Gimme a break already.
Let’s go through the field and evaluate what we have:
1B – Carlos Delgado – we may not have him for the year as he’s nicked up right now, but who’d you rather have than Carlos #1 (or Carlos #2 depending upon your point of view). Carlos is a hitter’s hitter, who records every at-bat in a log. How scientific is that? What players do that? Is this a guy who needs an edge?
Tatis has been his backup. He’s only recently started to hit the way he can hit. I look forward to seeing the old Fernando again, either in left or right fields, or first base. Dan Murphy can also spell Delgado in a pinch. From what I’ve seen ths far, he may be a better risk at first than in the outfield.
2B – Castillo and Cora – Castillo has been pretty good so far and Cora, in his limited playing time, has really shown me some flash in the field. There are a lot of second basemen who hit better but I’ll take fielding consistency at this position and we’ve got that, at the very least.
3B – David Wright – once again, who’d you rather see there? He’s shown some great fielding lately and, while he hasn’t hit in the clutch yet, you can say that about a lot of players, including Texas Rangers star shortstop/third baseman Michael Young. He’ll get better in the clutch, and I’ve seen improvement since he’s been moved out of the three spot, which he couldn’t and shouldn’t be forced to handle, not when Carlos Beltran is on the team.
SS – Jose Reyes – once again, who’d you rather have? Jimmy Rollins? No thanks. Hanley Ramirez? Not me. I want to see Jose vacuuming up everything in the hole or to either side and running like crazy. He does need to recognize the game situation though, and he looks as if he’s trying.
C – Ah, now here’s a sore spot. Three catchers means you really have no catchers. Schneider just isn’t really good in any area. I haven’t seen anything from him, which is why we see so much of Castro, who’s always got a reason for not playing, it seems. Now we’re getting to see Omir Santos, and I’ll take him over the other two any day of the week. So there’s hope at catcher. If he can keep it up, Santos is the answer.
CF – still once again, who’d you rather see in center than Carlos Beltran? Great fielder, great hitter, good speed, and only occasionally seems to be sleep-walking. Time off may be the answer to that quirk, but not too much please, just enough to give him that “edge”.
LF – okay, here’s a bit of a problem, but it’s getting better. Murphy shows some signs of calming down in the field and hits the cover off the ball. Sheffield spells him and he’s a great hitter, but you can downgrade him to just good lately. All in all, they’re an entertaining duo. You’ll get excitement from both of them, but sometimes good and sometimes bad.
RF – Ryan Church just doesn’t do it for me. He doesn’t hit in the clutch, he only occasionally seems to hit at all but he fields the position really well. He doesn’t seem to come through, at least not this year, and I’d love to see anybody else in the lineup rather than him. One reason Beltran had no steals until recently is that he was followed in the lineup by a totally oblivious Church. No edge here at all.
SP – Okay, now here’s a problem being addressed. Santana and a bunch of non-producers has been the story but there are some encouraging signs lately from both Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Livan Hernandez. The only recent dud is crazy Ollie, which might turn out to be a mistake of Pavanian proportions. Stay tuned.
RP – Putz and K-Rod have been lights out, for the most part, but then there’s Sean Green, who really hasn’t been getting it done lately. Maybe the answer for him is less usage, not more. But these young guys filling out the pen show a lot of promise, moreso than, say, the Yankees have in their pen.
Mgr – Jerry Manuel’s my type of manager. Smart with a good personality for handling all the different types you find on a baseball field. Once again, who’s better? Sciosia? Valentine? Girardi? Come on. You won’t get Francona, one of the only managers who might be better, but he’s a Manuel-type anyway.
So there’s very little reason to complain, given the makeup of the team. It’s a very tricky business. If Omar did make any mistakes, it was signing Perez and making the trade for Church and Schneider for LoDuca. Of all the myriad moves he’s made over the years, that’s not really much to whine about.
The players have to just start playing as smart as the manager. Reyes can’t over-run bases and get thrown out, Beltran can’t take a play off by not sliding, Wright has to take a different approach with two strikes or with men on base. And Manuel has to keep his prodigious baseball savvy in check . Sometimes the answer is the obvious one, not one that only a genius could even conceive.
But it’s all fixable. The most serious problem nobody talks about is the problem with Delgado. Even without him, however, the Mets should be okay, with enough pitching and defense to win a lot of games.
But they have to play (and manage) smart baseball. We haven’t seen much of that. They seem to have reverted to the form they had in Willie Randolph’s last days, which is to say they’re doing just enough to lose.
Let’s go through the field and evaluate what we have:
1B – Carlos Delgado – we may not have him for the year as he’s nicked up right now, but who’d you rather have than Carlos #1 (or Carlos #2 depending upon your point of view). Carlos is a hitter’s hitter, who records every at-bat in a log. How scientific is that? What players do that? Is this a guy who needs an edge?
Tatis has been his backup. He’s only recently started to hit the way he can hit. I look forward to seeing the old Fernando again, either in left or right fields, or first base. Dan Murphy can also spell Delgado in a pinch. From what I’ve seen ths far, he may be a better risk at first than in the outfield.
2B – Castillo and Cora – Castillo has been pretty good so far and Cora, in his limited playing time, has really shown me some flash in the field. There are a lot of second basemen who hit better but I’ll take fielding consistency at this position and we’ve got that, at the very least.
3B – David Wright – once again, who’d you rather see there? He’s shown some great fielding lately and, while he hasn’t hit in the clutch yet, you can say that about a lot of players, including Texas Rangers star shortstop/third baseman Michael Young. He’ll get better in the clutch, and I’ve seen improvement since he’s been moved out of the three spot, which he couldn’t and shouldn’t be forced to handle, not when Carlos Beltran is on the team.
SS – Jose Reyes – once again, who’d you rather have? Jimmy Rollins? No thanks. Hanley Ramirez? Not me. I want to see Jose vacuuming up everything in the hole or to either side and running like crazy. He does need to recognize the game situation though, and he looks as if he’s trying.
C – Ah, now here’s a sore spot. Three catchers means you really have no catchers. Schneider just isn’t really good in any area. I haven’t seen anything from him, which is why we see so much of Castro, who’s always got a reason for not playing, it seems. Now we’re getting to see Omir Santos, and I’ll take him over the other two any day of the week. So there’s hope at catcher. If he can keep it up, Santos is the answer.
CF – still once again, who’d you rather see in center than Carlos Beltran? Great fielder, great hitter, good speed, and only occasionally seems to be sleep-walking. Time off may be the answer to that quirk, but not too much please, just enough to give him that “edge”.
LF – okay, here’s a bit of a problem, but it’s getting better. Murphy shows some signs of calming down in the field and hits the cover off the ball. Sheffield spells him and he’s a great hitter, but you can downgrade him to just good lately. All in all, they’re an entertaining duo. You’ll get excitement from both of them, but sometimes good and sometimes bad.
RF – Ryan Church just doesn’t do it for me. He doesn’t hit in the clutch, he only occasionally seems to hit at all but he fields the position really well. He doesn’t seem to come through, at least not this year, and I’d love to see anybody else in the lineup rather than him. One reason Beltran had no steals until recently is that he was followed in the lineup by a totally oblivious Church. No edge here at all.
SP – Okay, now here’s a problem being addressed. Santana and a bunch of non-producers has been the story but there are some encouraging signs lately from both Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Livan Hernandez. The only recent dud is crazy Ollie, which might turn out to be a mistake of Pavanian proportions. Stay tuned.
RP – Putz and K-Rod have been lights out, for the most part, but then there’s Sean Green, who really hasn’t been getting it done lately. Maybe the answer for him is less usage, not more. But these young guys filling out the pen show a lot of promise, moreso than, say, the Yankees have in their pen.
Mgr – Jerry Manuel’s my type of manager. Smart with a good personality for handling all the different types you find on a baseball field. Once again, who’s better? Sciosia? Valentine? Girardi? Come on. You won’t get Francona, one of the only managers who might be better, but he’s a Manuel-type anyway.
So there’s very little reason to complain, given the makeup of the team. It’s a very tricky business. If Omar did make any mistakes, it was signing Perez and making the trade for Church and Schneider for LoDuca. Of all the myriad moves he’s made over the years, that’s not really much to whine about.
The players have to just start playing as smart as the manager. Reyes can’t over-run bases and get thrown out, Beltran can’t take a play off by not sliding, Wright has to take a different approach with two strikes or with men on base. And Manuel has to keep his prodigious baseball savvy in check . Sometimes the answer is the obvious one, not one that only a genius could even conceive.
But it’s all fixable. The most serious problem nobody talks about is the problem with Delgado. Even without him, however, the Mets should be okay, with enough pitching and defense to win a lot of games.
But they have to play (and manage) smart baseball. We haven’t seen much of that. They seem to have reverted to the form they had in Willie Randolph’s last days, which is to say they’re doing just enough to lose.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Going to Church
The Mets are full of surprises this year. Biggest surprise of them all though has been the consistent play of right fielder Ryan Church. In 28 games he's played, he's had at least one hit in 22 of them. He's batting .310 with 4 home runs and 22 rbi's this season. When he's not killing the competition with his bat, he's using his glove or his arm, as he demonstrated just this past Sunday against the Diamondbacks, cutting down a runner trying to take third base.
Just for a bit of perspective, Church has a career batting average of .275 and, before this season, he had a distinct problem hitting left-handed pitching. Not this year. He's actually batting better vs. lefties than against righties. This is his fifth year in the majors and he's never even played a full season.
Last year, though, he played in 144 games for
It's a good thing for some pleasant surprises, especially with these Mets, who have had more than their share of unpleasant ones. Until just recently, Carlos Delgado had continued to disappoint (from last year) but Luis Castillo hadn't been too far behind in the anguish department. Carlos Beltran, while he does still play a great centerfield, hasn't been quite himself yet, batting .221 with 24 runs scored but just 13 ribbies and his record with runners in scoring position has been worse. Perhaps Carlos needs to relax.
Baseball is a streaky game and the Mets certainly follow that pattern, maybe too much. Reyes has demonstrated his affinity for going to sleep, at the bat and in the field as well. Moises Alou's only consistency has been his appearance on the disabled list. Much the same could be said for Brian Schneider. Angel Pagan had started very hot but has now cooled considerably.
Then there is David Wright, .469 and .198, those are this year's numbers versus lefties and righties. Would that there were more left-handers because his overall batting average is just .274. Mr. Wright has always been a little strange at the plate though. Every at-bat seems to go to two strikes immediately, yet there's no one you'd rather have at the plate with two strikes than Mr. Wright.
Then there is the pitching. Johan Santana has been amazing as usual yet continues his predilection for giving up home runs. Oliver Perez has been less than amazing and continues his penchant for making the big mistakes. John Maine has been pretty consistent, but each of his games seems like an adventure. Nelson Figueroa has been another shining light, not so much for his overall stats but for his relative consistency. Pelfrey has been Pelfrey, and his 2-2 record has been achieved via a 5.27 ERA.
I don’t even want to think about Pedro Martinez, the pain of his going down so quickly is still with me, and I can’t say I’m happy that he recuperates somewhere in Latin America. Oh, and then there is El Duque. Right.
Strangely enough, I continue to have faith in the bullpen. Billie Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, even Aaron Heilman, I think, over the long run, they’ll be good, especially if Aaron becomes a long relief guy rather than that setup guy for Wagner. To me, the winner of that spot has clearly been Sanchez, who is just tougher in that situation, has better stuff and maybe more command of the zone.
The others aren’t bad either. Feliciano, Smith, Schoenweis, and even Sosa, who has had his share of bad luck, all have had their moments this season, and I mean that mostly in a good way. Sosa, for example, leads the team in wins with 4.
The Mets have been consistent though only in their overall mediocrity. Currently at 16-14, they are only third in the NL East, behind the Phils, of course, and the surprising Marlins. They lose 4 out of 5, then win eight in a row, then another streak of three losses. Now they seem to win one, lose one, which, I must say, doesn’t make me feel any better but does prevent overall despondency to invade my spirit.
I keep thinking things can only get better. Catching, for example, has been a merry-go-round, what with Schneider’s mysterious hand infection and Castro’s hamstring. I have to admit taking a liking for Raul Casanova, who seems to do the job behind the plate and in the batter’s box as well. His .262 BA isn’t really too shabby and he can hit for power, although he’s hit just one home run thus far.
Tonight we have Nelson Figueroa going again and I’m hopeful, both for Figgy and the whole team as well. I do see some good signs. I wonder who’ll bat second. I hope Mr. Castillo rides the pine. I look forward to seeing Delgado continuing to hit, for Wright to find his way against right-handers, for Beltran to have some luck at the plate, something he never seems to possess in abundance.
Perhaps the thing I most anticipate is having the “regular” lineup in place. Schneider is back so it’ll be Reyes, Church, Wright, Beltran, Alou, Delgado, Schneider, Castillo and the pitcher. That, at least, was the lineup last night, and, although they only scored one run with it, I’d like to think it was the Dodgers’ pitching that shut them down.
And I’ll root for Church. As Kipling said, “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs”….
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