I just got my call from JCP&L asking me to conserve electricity so, being a good citizen (or a not so bad one), I turned off everything but the fridge and Francesa (necessities are after all necessities) and have my PC running on the battery.
There’s a lot happening in the sports world on which to comment, even if not much of it can be positive. The Mets, fuggedaboudit, they’re getting worse, but at least the NFL lockout looks to be ending and we won’t have to contemplate the angry visage of DeMaurice Smith anymore.
I had thought they’d miss the first four games of the regular season. My thinking had been based upon the knowledge that the owners were insured for the first four weeks. But, what I didn’t realize (and neither did the owners apparently) was that the players were insured too, to about 200 thousand bucks per player.
That latter fact certainly accelerated the pace of negotiations. And this marks the first time in my life ‘ve ever been thankful for the insurance industry.
Now we can all get back to perusing our fantasy football magazines while sprawled on the beach listening to some baseball game. And that’s not all. The delay and shortening of the signing period means that our next few weeks will be chock full of surprises, who’s being signed, let go or just asked to take one for the team…..heh-heh.
Meanwhile, as the July 31st trading deadline approaches, Mets fans can wonder how bad things can really get without K-Rod and now probably Beltran. From the looks of things thus far, they can get pretty bad in a hurry, just from the thought of losing Carlos.
I know I’ve become inured already to the poor play and lack of talent on my favorite team. Looking at the bright side, maybe the Mets will finally do something about these pieces of dead wood that litter the roster.
It’s not even so much the really raw players that exasperate me. It’s the players that have been with the team for a long while now, the Pagans of the world and the Bay’s and the Pelfrey’s that just seem to keep stinking it up.
I had thought that Jason Bay might be coming out of his funk finally after almost two years of playing worse than anyone could ever have imagined. Alas, it was not to be. His big day a couple of weeks ago was just a cruel aberration, just another reminder of how much we’re truly missing while he flounders. I mean, it’s not just the poor performance per se, but the opportunity loss of what the man could be.
The entire Mets season kinda reminds me of the Wizard of Oz. The Wizard would have to be the GM Alderson or Manager Terry Collins. The lion looking for courage could be Jason Bay. The scarecrow looking for a brain would definitely be Angel Pagan. The tin man seeking a heart could be Carlos Beltran, that is, seeking another team to love him.
But the Mets have too many scarecrows. Angel Pagan heads the list of stupid players but there is also Mike Pelfrey and especially Lucas Duda. And that sometime closer Bobby Parnell isn’t the brightest light in the heavens either. Willie Harris and Scott Hairston have all the brains they need to play but just lack any discernible talent.
That being said, any professional baseball team needs at least a bit of production from all 25 players. On the Mets, it’s easier to identify the keepers for next year. It’s a much shorter list. In the outfield there are no keepers unless you count Beltran. I suppose he could return after a brief sojourn with the Phils or Giants or Brewers but I wouldn’t count on it.
The infield could be good though. Ike Davis at first base, Justin Turner at second, Tejada at shortstop (if Jose should go elsewhere) and David Wright at third would certainly be representative of a real live major league team. The starters except for Pelfrey are all pretty good too. The catcher, Josh Thole, has a lot of potential and is good enough to be a regular.
As dealing Jason Bay would be next to impossible without a deep discount of some kind, I look for him to continue playing, at the very least, a very steady left field. Maybe he could be viewed as one of those defensive specialists, who are usually found at shortstop or second base. If Reyes could be retained, a weak-hitting left fielder could be tolerated.
So the Mets need to get rid of the dead men walking. That means Duda and Pelfrey and Pagan have to go. They are symbols of losing baseball. At least Bay is a smart player, good outfielder and good on the basepaths and, presumably, in the clubhouse.
So we need two outfielders. Surely there are two outfielders that can be had on the cheap if necessary, players who would make us forget Angel Pagan, Lucas Duda and the horror of Daniel Murphy out there. Murphy has value though, for sure, as a utility infielder who can spell Wright at third, Davis at first and Turner at second.
A couple of relief pitchers are also needed. Izzy and Beato and even Parnell could be keepers but that’s about all. Of the rest of them, only Tim Byrdak has performed pretty creditably. Surely something could be had in return for Beltran and K-Rod, and maybe even a big guy with some power.
Those are just the obvious moves. If one gets imaginative, it’s conceivable that David Wright could be traded as both Turner and Murphy are capable of playing there, if not providing as much power. But at this point anyway, I’d rather see a couple of good outfielders. Wright is the only player on the roster that could provide any appreciable value in return.
Get rid of all the scarecrows. A wizard could certainly do it.
Showing posts with label Pelfrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pelfrey. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Trying Their Brains Out
The kindest thing to say is that it just wasn’t meant to be. The Mets only had a puncher’s chance anyway. To take 2 of 3 from the Yankees would have been highly unlikely under the best of circumstances. And as just about every circumstance went against the Mets in Game 3, the result somehow became more palatable.
Taking the first game of the Series from the Yanks took all the pressure off the Mets, immediately ensuring that they wouldn’t be swept. So when Game 2 was lost, it wasn’t really very painful. It wasn’t that hard to figure that Chris Capuano, always vulnerable to the long ball, would be victimized somewhat while AJ Burnett would roll.
I’d say Game 3 was a typical Mike Pelfrey loss if it weren’t for the fact that he did so well for so long, pitching lights out for 6 innings. Usually he falls apart much sooner than the 7th inning. All he really did wrong in that 7th was give up a single and a walk. And, oh yeah, he hit Cervelli with a pitch to load the bases. By then, every Mets fan knew it was curtains for Mikey. The more cogent ones though knew he was done after he walked Dickerson.
Unfortunately, manager Terry Collins isn’t as smart as most Mets fans. He let Pelfrey pitch to Jeter, who promptly singled in two runs. Only then did Collins call for a reliever, after Jeter’s single tied the score at 3-3. Collins likes to give his players an opportunity to show their character. Pelfrey showed his when he nailed Cervelli. He’s really not that good with adversity.
It was interesting for a very short while thereafter. When Girardi sent the Yanks leader in home runs up to bunt the runners over to second and third, I figured the Yanks wasted an out and, if the Mets could walk Teixeira and get a ground ball from Arod, all would be right with the world. Reliever Beato had always been tough with runners in scoring position.
The ironic thing was that Beato did get his ground ball from Arod. But it was too soft, unplayably soft, and the winning run came trotting home. Even then, things might have been salvageable if Beato could have eked out a ground ball from Cano. But he couldn’t. Cano rifled a single to center and two more runs came scurrying home. Only then was it time to switch to the French Open.
What happened after all the above isn’t really important. Things got worse. Willie Harris booted a chance at third base but by then everybody had lost interest. Mets fans were left to wonder what could have been if Collins hadn’t been such an optimist with respect to Pelfrey.
But sometimes things just catch up to you. How long could the Mets keep going as if losing David Wright and Ike Davis didn’t really mean that much? How long could Justin Turner, the Mets RBI machine for the past week, keep practicing his magic? How long could the relief staff keep throwing up zeroes?
Our local heroes have a day off before traveling out to Chicago for three against the Cubbies before hosting the Phillies and then Pittsburgh. One hopes they just forget all about yesterday’s foibles. Instead, they could think about all the good things they have, because they can still win a lot of games with Justin Turner and Pridie and yes, even Willie Harris.
They just have to keep pitching well. There does seem to be enough talent there. By some miracle, R.A. Dickey’s knuckler has returned and the other starters, Gee and Niese and Capuano have been good enough so far to keep them in games. And the hitting isn’t really as bad as all the local media would have you believe, even without Davis and Wright.
You shouldn’t judge the Mets hitting off a series with the Yankees. Those relievers in the Bronx were and are pretty darned good. While the Cubbies have a couple of good ones in Marmol and Marshall, if the Mets can take and hold a lead against their starters, they may not have to face the really tough ones.
If this all sounds a little too optimistic, it shouldn’t. While these upstarts from Buffalo don’t have any reputations, they do seem to play defense and do all the other things needed to win. They’re not the Yankees but then even the Yankees aren’t really knockin’ ‘em dead.
The Yankees lineup just doesn’t seem that intimidating anymore. Arod seems to be coming on and Granderson hits the more than occasional dinger but otherwise they’ve been pretty mundane. Besides, the lineup is crazy. Having Granderson in the two spot is ridiculous. Although he did lay down a nice bunt yesterday and he does have speed, he’s really not making enough contact to be a two.
Teixeira’ not a three, Jeter’s not a one, and just about no Yankees seem to really fit in the lineup spot they find themselves in. Gardner should be the leadoff hitter with his speed and ability to take pitches. If anybody’s a three, it’s Arod and well, it’s not really my business but they are looking old to me, especially Posada but Jeter’s looking a little too creaky to me at shortstop. His error in taking a beautiful throw from Cervelli yesterday looked suspiciously to me like an old guy trying to do things only a younger guy could pull off.
And Cano looks as if his mind’s on something else more often than not. He’s not so far the wunderkind he was last year, especially in the field. Even at the plate more often than not, it looks as if he’s just not that into it.
The Mets never look complacent. The Mets are all trying their brains out. And as Beltran and Reyes are in their contract years, they’re playing for their very livelihoods. It’s a peculiar mix that just might work.
Taking the first game of the Series from the Yanks took all the pressure off the Mets, immediately ensuring that they wouldn’t be swept. So when Game 2 was lost, it wasn’t really very painful. It wasn’t that hard to figure that Chris Capuano, always vulnerable to the long ball, would be victimized somewhat while AJ Burnett would roll.
I’d say Game 3 was a typical Mike Pelfrey loss if it weren’t for the fact that he did so well for so long, pitching lights out for 6 innings. Usually he falls apart much sooner than the 7th inning. All he really did wrong in that 7th was give up a single and a walk. And, oh yeah, he hit Cervelli with a pitch to load the bases. By then, every Mets fan knew it was curtains for Mikey. The more cogent ones though knew he was done after he walked Dickerson.
Unfortunately, manager Terry Collins isn’t as smart as most Mets fans. He let Pelfrey pitch to Jeter, who promptly singled in two runs. Only then did Collins call for a reliever, after Jeter’s single tied the score at 3-3. Collins likes to give his players an opportunity to show their character. Pelfrey showed his when he nailed Cervelli. He’s really not that good with adversity.
It was interesting for a very short while thereafter. When Girardi sent the Yanks leader in home runs up to bunt the runners over to second and third, I figured the Yanks wasted an out and, if the Mets could walk Teixeira and get a ground ball from Arod, all would be right with the world. Reliever Beato had always been tough with runners in scoring position.
The ironic thing was that Beato did get his ground ball from Arod. But it was too soft, unplayably soft, and the winning run came trotting home. Even then, things might have been salvageable if Beato could have eked out a ground ball from Cano. But he couldn’t. Cano rifled a single to center and two more runs came scurrying home. Only then was it time to switch to the French Open.
What happened after all the above isn’t really important. Things got worse. Willie Harris booted a chance at third base but by then everybody had lost interest. Mets fans were left to wonder what could have been if Collins hadn’t been such an optimist with respect to Pelfrey.
But sometimes things just catch up to you. How long could the Mets keep going as if losing David Wright and Ike Davis didn’t really mean that much? How long could Justin Turner, the Mets RBI machine for the past week, keep practicing his magic? How long could the relief staff keep throwing up zeroes?
Our local heroes have a day off before traveling out to Chicago for three against the Cubbies before hosting the Phillies and then Pittsburgh. One hopes they just forget all about yesterday’s foibles. Instead, they could think about all the good things they have, because they can still win a lot of games with Justin Turner and Pridie and yes, even Willie Harris.
They just have to keep pitching well. There does seem to be enough talent there. By some miracle, R.A. Dickey’s knuckler has returned and the other starters, Gee and Niese and Capuano have been good enough so far to keep them in games. And the hitting isn’t really as bad as all the local media would have you believe, even without Davis and Wright.
You shouldn’t judge the Mets hitting off a series with the Yankees. Those relievers in the Bronx were and are pretty darned good. While the Cubbies have a couple of good ones in Marmol and Marshall, if the Mets can take and hold a lead against their starters, they may not have to face the really tough ones.
If this all sounds a little too optimistic, it shouldn’t. While these upstarts from Buffalo don’t have any reputations, they do seem to play defense and do all the other things needed to win. They’re not the Yankees but then even the Yankees aren’t really knockin’ ‘em dead.
The Yankees lineup just doesn’t seem that intimidating anymore. Arod seems to be coming on and Granderson hits the more than occasional dinger but otherwise they’ve been pretty mundane. Besides, the lineup is crazy. Having Granderson in the two spot is ridiculous. Although he did lay down a nice bunt yesterday and he does have speed, he’s really not making enough contact to be a two.
Teixeira’ not a three, Jeter’s not a one, and just about no Yankees seem to really fit in the lineup spot they find themselves in. Gardner should be the leadoff hitter with his speed and ability to take pitches. If anybody’s a three, it’s Arod and well, it’s not really my business but they are looking old to me, especially Posada but Jeter’s looking a little too creaky to me at shortstop. His error in taking a beautiful throw from Cervelli yesterday looked suspiciously to me like an old guy trying to do things only a younger guy could pull off.
And Cano looks as if his mind’s on something else more often than not. He’s not so far the wunderkind he was last year, especially in the field. Even at the plate more often than not, it looks as if he’s just not that into it.
The Mets never look complacent. The Mets are all trying their brains out. And as Beltran and Reyes are in their contract years, they’re playing for their very livelihoods. It’s a peculiar mix that just might work.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Mets May Only Live Twice
Watching James Bond as this is written in “You Only Live Twice”, a real classic, and it appears my Metsies will have to live twice as their first life seems to be ending rather rapidly, and a little too abruptly in my mind. No pitching, no hitting, and before you could say “Jackie Robinson”, the Mets had lost 2 of 3 to the Reds and have so far lost 2 in a row to a Braves team that looks pretty scary right now.
Earlier today I watched the Phillies play really tough to eke out a sweep of those same Reds that just took my Mets apart. Sooo….the Phils are coming on, the Braves keep keepin’ on and the Mets are just in a bad way, the pitchers and hitters all faltering, and, just to add injury to insult, Jose Reyes had to come off the field after making a very nice throw to first base from deep in the hole.
Deep in the hole, that’s where the Mets will find themselves at the break, and, if they can’t take this last game against the Braves to at least salvage some face and avoid a series sweep to the division leaders. It’ll be Johan facing Derek Lowe, still another pretty good Braves pitcher. Geez, this reminds me of the Braves heyday with Glavine and Schmidt…..see how quickly a Mets fan can start losing it?
They’re five games back now and I’d sure like to see them cut it to 4 to finish off nicely before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. It’s not as if they’re even playing badly, they’ve just been getting beat by some pretty good teams, and some pretty hot teams, come to think of it, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.
At least I don’t have to worry about them shedding some good players for a Cliff Lee rental. Dickey and Niese still look pretty good to me, and we’ll all have to hold our breath or say a little prayer for Mike Pelfrey to come back from mediocrity. And I think Takahashi is starting to fade but I hope it’s just my imagination. I really need Johan to come through tomorrow to restore my dwindling faith.
It’s good that the Mets aren’t the only game in town when it comes to sports entertainment though. (They’re just the most fun). The Knicks are making their bid to get better, and to me it’s a lot more fun to do it without a superstar, not that Amare Stoudemire isn’t one, but he’s not LeBron either, or even Kobe. But Raymond Felton is Raymond Felton, and he should definitely be an upgrade over Chris Duhon.
The Knicks got more athletic too with their big Cliff Lee deal. Now, I know everybody loves Lee in New York but Stoudemire will be replacing him. The Knicks got Ronnie Turiaf, who can play center, and Anthony Randolph, a former first round pick with nice potential and he’s long too at about 6’10 or so. And, if that wasn’t enough, they also got Kelenna Azubuike, who can score bigtime. All these guys can defend a little too, something I was never sure of with Cliff Lee.
The Nets haven’t done much but sure have a lot of cap space so we have something to look forward to.
Then there were the Yankees, losing a heartbreaker to the Mariners, not my heart of course, just theirs. That bloated roach of an organization, that tried its damnedest to extinguish the rest of the league’s hopes by grabbing up Cliff Lee, was thwarted in those efforts by the Rangers, who don’t even really have an owner anymore. I love a good Yankee burn.
The afternoon went by a little quicker too when the Germany-Uruguay World Cup match turned out to be a really good one, something that tournament badly needed, I think, after that horrible Germany-Spain game. And tomorrow will feature that Netherlands-Spain matchup, one I suppose Spain will win but it sure could be a close one.
I wish I could get more excited about the All-Star Game itself, but the ridiculous voting process really turned me off. I like Nick Swisher a little less now. I never cared for politicking and that’s pretty much what he and the Yankees did to secure that All-Star berth. I know I won’t stay mad, how can you stay mad at Swisher, but the game really won’t be the best against the best.
It will be for home field in the World Series though, a fact that all by itself should justify a smarter selection process. If the league is making a sham of the selection process, I’d rather just have the game be a totally meaningless exhibition. When the NL loses again, at least it won’t have any lasting effect. The AL doesn’t need any more advantages.
Especially if the AL rep in the series winds up being the Yankees, it certainly doesn’t need any favors. I know it’s just an aberration that the AL keeps winning that infernal All-Star Game, but it’ll be even worse if the AL keeps winning the World Series. Not that I’m a National Leaguer, heh-heh.
I know I’m taking all this much too seriously. It’s not as if I had money on any of these games. But what the hell, they haven’t won anything, the Mets that is, in such a long time and last year, the year they finally had all the ingredients, they all got hurt. I hate talking about fairness, but I thought this year that surely the good fortune would be rolling our way.
It may just be that the Mets have started to exhaust their luck this year. Maybe it’s time for them to come back to the pack. Maybe all those rookies performing a lot better than anybody expected, maybe that was the aberration. The Mets started bad, got much better, then faded, came back but are fading once again.
And you only live twice.
Earlier today I watched the Phillies play really tough to eke out a sweep of those same Reds that just took my Mets apart. Sooo….the Phils are coming on, the Braves keep keepin’ on and the Mets are just in a bad way, the pitchers and hitters all faltering, and, just to add injury to insult, Jose Reyes had to come off the field after making a very nice throw to first base from deep in the hole.
Deep in the hole, that’s where the Mets will find themselves at the break, and, if they can’t take this last game against the Braves to at least salvage some face and avoid a series sweep to the division leaders. It’ll be Johan facing Derek Lowe, still another pretty good Braves pitcher. Geez, this reminds me of the Braves heyday with Glavine and Schmidt…..see how quickly a Mets fan can start losing it?
They’re five games back now and I’d sure like to see them cut it to 4 to finish off nicely before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. It’s not as if they’re even playing badly, they’ve just been getting beat by some pretty good teams, and some pretty hot teams, come to think of it, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.
At least I don’t have to worry about them shedding some good players for a Cliff Lee rental. Dickey and Niese still look pretty good to me, and we’ll all have to hold our breath or say a little prayer for Mike Pelfrey to come back from mediocrity. And I think Takahashi is starting to fade but I hope it’s just my imagination. I really need Johan to come through tomorrow to restore my dwindling faith.
It’s good that the Mets aren’t the only game in town when it comes to sports entertainment though. (They’re just the most fun). The Knicks are making their bid to get better, and to me it’s a lot more fun to do it without a superstar, not that Amare Stoudemire isn’t one, but he’s not LeBron either, or even Kobe. But Raymond Felton is Raymond Felton, and he should definitely be an upgrade over Chris Duhon.
The Knicks got more athletic too with their big Cliff Lee deal. Now, I know everybody loves Lee in New York but Stoudemire will be replacing him. The Knicks got Ronnie Turiaf, who can play center, and Anthony Randolph, a former first round pick with nice potential and he’s long too at about 6’10 or so. And, if that wasn’t enough, they also got Kelenna Azubuike, who can score bigtime. All these guys can defend a little too, something I was never sure of with Cliff Lee.
The Nets haven’t done much but sure have a lot of cap space so we have something to look forward to.
Then there were the Yankees, losing a heartbreaker to the Mariners, not my heart of course, just theirs. That bloated roach of an organization, that tried its damnedest to extinguish the rest of the league’s hopes by grabbing up Cliff Lee, was thwarted in those efforts by the Rangers, who don’t even really have an owner anymore. I love a good Yankee burn.
The afternoon went by a little quicker too when the Germany-Uruguay World Cup match turned out to be a really good one, something that tournament badly needed, I think, after that horrible Germany-Spain game. And tomorrow will feature that Netherlands-Spain matchup, one I suppose Spain will win but it sure could be a close one.
I wish I could get more excited about the All-Star Game itself, but the ridiculous voting process really turned me off. I like Nick Swisher a little less now. I never cared for politicking and that’s pretty much what he and the Yankees did to secure that All-Star berth. I know I won’t stay mad, how can you stay mad at Swisher, but the game really won’t be the best against the best.
It will be for home field in the World Series though, a fact that all by itself should justify a smarter selection process. If the league is making a sham of the selection process, I’d rather just have the game be a totally meaningless exhibition. When the NL loses again, at least it won’t have any lasting effect. The AL doesn’t need any more advantages.
Especially if the AL rep in the series winds up being the Yankees, it certainly doesn’t need any favors. I know it’s just an aberration that the AL keeps winning that infernal All-Star Game, but it’ll be even worse if the AL keeps winning the World Series. Not that I’m a National Leaguer, heh-heh.
I know I’m taking all this much too seriously. It’s not as if I had money on any of these games. But what the hell, they haven’t won anything, the Mets that is, in such a long time and last year, the year they finally had all the ingredients, they all got hurt. I hate talking about fairness, but I thought this year that surely the good fortune would be rolling our way.
It may just be that the Mets have started to exhaust their luck this year. Maybe it’s time for them to come back to the pack. Maybe all those rookies performing a lot better than anybody expected, maybe that was the aberration. The Mets started bad, got much better, then faded, came back but are fading once again.
And you only live twice.
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, April 26, 2010
Anything's Possible for these Mets
I couldn’t be happier. The Mets are playing good baseball. They came back from oblivion to achieve a better than .500 record in the space of about 10 days. And they’re doing it with pitching, not just good relief pitching either. The starters have come on like gangbusters. Santana, Pelfrey and Niese have ben magnificent. Perez and Maine have held their own.
But it hasn’t been just pitching. It’s been the fortuitous return of Ike Davis from Buffalo. It’s been Jose Reyes flashing his speed from the third spot in the order. It’s been Jason Bay starting to hit. It’s been good baserunning, good fielding, and opportunistic hitting, even taking into account a low figure for aveage with runners in scoring position.
It must be pointed out that Mets fans had not been feeling optimistic. There was nothing to feel that good about just about 10 days ago. The angst begins with the starter of the day. With Santana, they worry he’ll relapse, with Pelfrey, they worry he’ll go to pieces with men on base, with Niese, that he’ll realize he’s young, with Maine and Perez, that they won’t totally implode.
None of those maladies befell the Mets starters in this streak of good fortune. The closest thing to a bad start was Maine’s injuring his off-arm and coming out in the fourth inning on Friday, the opener against the Braves, those same Braves that just seem to thrash the Mets at every opportunity. But Hisanori Takahashi, one of their two Japanese imports this season, struck out seven Braves in three innings.
What a game that Friday night affair was! For a long stretch there in the middle of the game, it was two Japanese pitchers facing each other, and they were both looking very effective. But, in the Mets half of the sixth, Ike Davis hit the Shea Bridge in deep right centerfield to put the Mets ahead. It was a truly majestic shot, one that seemed to pee on the Citi Field dimensions.
Then, in the seventh, as if to show that Ike wasn’t the only Met player with power, Reyes and Bay hit two triples in a row. Bay’s shot was quite a shot, just hitting the base of that long wall. Then Wright drove in Bay with still another long shot to right center to put the game away.
I say “put the game away” but when the Mets play the Braves, that never seems to be the case. But after Takahashi left the game in the 7th, Raul Valdez got the third out, Feliciano mowed the Braves down in the 8th, and K-Rod, after giving the Braves life with a walk and a single, finally closed it out after striking out two very dangerous hitters, McLouth and Prado.
That game put the Mets at 8-9. After taking 3 of 4 from the Cubs and smoking the Braves in the opener, they just had to somehow get by Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens to get to .500. Once again, Jonathon Niese got the call, and once again, he came through. He threw lots of pitches and walked more than his share, but in the end, the Braves had scored just one, thanks to some pretty fair (to put it mildly) relief from the likes of Manny Acosta and then the usual suspects, Nieve, Feliciano and K-Rod.
The Mets were .500.
It was a wonder that Sunday’s game got off at all. It had rained all day. But the Mets got a run in the first that Reyes virtually stole and Pelfrey blanked the Braves for five innings before the rains came down for real in the sixth, thus fortunately ending still another game in the Mets favor, and voila, the Mets were a winning team.
It’s easy to like this team too. They still can’t hit very much, especially early in the game, but they have come through in the stretch more often than not. Ike Davis really energized this team while the new lineup, with Reyes batting third, seems to be working too.
Jason Bay seems to have found his swing finally after three weeks of mostly frustration. Wright’s struggles continue though, and it seems he’s lost that swing from the legs that was supposed to bring his power back this season. Hopefully, he can find that swing again.
This Mets team seems complete just as it is. This team has won 7 of its last 10 and its last four in a row. If the Mets had any thoughts about trading Carlos Beltran, who seems to not want to return, this would be the time to pull the trigger, before he comes back, before encountering the risk of a bad start after a long period of injury.
Angel Pagan is no Beltran, but he is a good player and seems to hold his own. And, with Fernando Martinez in the wings up in Buffalo too, I’d think centerfield was not a worry, especially given that Gary Matthews, that second ill-advised pickup (the first being Mike Jacobs), is still with the team.
Beltran could easily bring another pitcher to Citi Field, an established pitcher who could lend some savvy and experience to that rotation, especially if it begins to show signs of faltering. With Maine and Perez, it seems almost inevitable that, somewhere down the road, another starter will be needed, especially if the Mets are still in contention in July.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy watching these Mets as presently constructed. It’s a fiery team, a resilient team, one that’s becoming successful with great pitching, a much better defense with Ike at first base, and just enough hitting to get by, even with some potentially big bats still struggling.
Tonight it’ll be the Dodgers coming to town, with Kuroda facing up against Ollie Perez, who is winless thus far despite his 3.71 ERA. If the Mets can continue to get by his turn in the rotation, anything’s possible in the NL East, even a pennant.
But it hasn’t been just pitching. It’s been the fortuitous return of Ike Davis from Buffalo. It’s been Jose Reyes flashing his speed from the third spot in the order. It’s been Jason Bay starting to hit. It’s been good baserunning, good fielding, and opportunistic hitting, even taking into account a low figure for aveage with runners in scoring position.
It must be pointed out that Mets fans had not been feeling optimistic. There was nothing to feel that good about just about 10 days ago. The angst begins with the starter of the day. With Santana, they worry he’ll relapse, with Pelfrey, they worry he’ll go to pieces with men on base, with Niese, that he’ll realize he’s young, with Maine and Perez, that they won’t totally implode.
None of those maladies befell the Mets starters in this streak of good fortune. The closest thing to a bad start was Maine’s injuring his off-arm and coming out in the fourth inning on Friday, the opener against the Braves, those same Braves that just seem to thrash the Mets at every opportunity. But Hisanori Takahashi, one of their two Japanese imports this season, struck out seven Braves in three innings.
What a game that Friday night affair was! For a long stretch there in the middle of the game, it was two Japanese pitchers facing each other, and they were both looking very effective. But, in the Mets half of the sixth, Ike Davis hit the Shea Bridge in deep right centerfield to put the Mets ahead. It was a truly majestic shot, one that seemed to pee on the Citi Field dimensions.
Then, in the seventh, as if to show that Ike wasn’t the only Met player with power, Reyes and Bay hit two triples in a row. Bay’s shot was quite a shot, just hitting the base of that long wall. Then Wright drove in Bay with still another long shot to right center to put the game away.
I say “put the game away” but when the Mets play the Braves, that never seems to be the case. But after Takahashi left the game in the 7th, Raul Valdez got the third out, Feliciano mowed the Braves down in the 8th, and K-Rod, after giving the Braves life with a walk and a single, finally closed it out after striking out two very dangerous hitters, McLouth and Prado.
That game put the Mets at 8-9. After taking 3 of 4 from the Cubs and smoking the Braves in the opener, they just had to somehow get by Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens to get to .500. Once again, Jonathon Niese got the call, and once again, he came through. He threw lots of pitches and walked more than his share, but in the end, the Braves had scored just one, thanks to some pretty fair (to put it mildly) relief from the likes of Manny Acosta and then the usual suspects, Nieve, Feliciano and K-Rod.
The Mets were .500.
It was a wonder that Sunday’s game got off at all. It had rained all day. But the Mets got a run in the first that Reyes virtually stole and Pelfrey blanked the Braves for five innings before the rains came down for real in the sixth, thus fortunately ending still another game in the Mets favor, and voila, the Mets were a winning team.
It’s easy to like this team too. They still can’t hit very much, especially early in the game, but they have come through in the stretch more often than not. Ike Davis really energized this team while the new lineup, with Reyes batting third, seems to be working too.
Jason Bay seems to have found his swing finally after three weeks of mostly frustration. Wright’s struggles continue though, and it seems he’s lost that swing from the legs that was supposed to bring his power back this season. Hopefully, he can find that swing again.
This Mets team seems complete just as it is. This team has won 7 of its last 10 and its last four in a row. If the Mets had any thoughts about trading Carlos Beltran, who seems to not want to return, this would be the time to pull the trigger, before he comes back, before encountering the risk of a bad start after a long period of injury.
Angel Pagan is no Beltran, but he is a good player and seems to hold his own. And, with Fernando Martinez in the wings up in Buffalo too, I’d think centerfield was not a worry, especially given that Gary Matthews, that second ill-advised pickup (the first being Mike Jacobs), is still with the team.
Beltran could easily bring another pitcher to Citi Field, an established pitcher who could lend some savvy and experience to that rotation, especially if it begins to show signs of faltering. With Maine and Perez, it seems almost inevitable that, somewhere down the road, another starter will be needed, especially if the Mets are still in contention in July.
In the meantime, I’ll enjoy watching these Mets as presently constructed. It’s a fiery team, a resilient team, one that’s becoming successful with great pitching, a much better defense with Ike at first base, and just enough hitting to get by, even with some potentially big bats still struggling.
Tonight it’ll be the Dodgers coming to town, with Kuroda facing up against Ollie Perez, who is winless thus far despite his 3.71 ERA. If the Mets can continue to get by his turn in the rotation, anything’s possible in the NL East, even a pennant.
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Open, Blackouts and Budgets
Wow! This U.S. Open women’s bracket is really sumthin’. A 17-year old young woman from Georgia just beat Maria Dementieva, and she looked great doing it. Dementieva didn’t give it away either. Oudin took it.
Oudin won it on an ace. But there were some long rallies and some wicked forehands mixed in. And this is all happening right up there in Flushing Meadows, hard by Metsland.
Tennis continued into today, of course, and we got to see Maria Sharapova, who only even needs a last name because of one Maria Kirilenko. I love the U.S. Open. And this Open may be enjoying the best weather of any U.S. Open ever. Just a good time for everybody in a beautiful setting.
Today though, the Mets won again, for once not losing the first game of a series. So that’s pretty good, and they beat Carlos Zambrano. The Mets pitcher was Bobby Parnell and, after about five horrid outings in a row, he shut out the Cubs for seven innings. So that’s two in a row for my sorry team, the first time they’ve pulled that off since July 30th.
But one thing definitely caught my eye today, and pretty soon it will be all too apparent to football fans in lots of places. Commissioner Goodell expects that 20% of NFL games will be blacked out this year. That’s one out of five for you math minors. In New York we may be safe but what about the six or seven cities every week that can’t sit back and watch their local football team on TV.
I can’t imagine the uproar. For example, in Denver (which may or may not be one of the cities in trouble), folks can sit home on Sunday morning and see NFL action starting at 10 AM. Then they’ll take a little break maybe and see another game at 1 PM. If the Broncos are blacked out, that goes a long way towards ruining your Sunday morning.
Too many Sundays like that and maybe football fans will have to develop an alternative life style. I can’t even imagine what that would be…maybe attendance at churches will soar to the heights but I don’t think so. People will go skiing or take a ride into the mountains for a day trip. Maybe they’ll realize what they’ve been missing and forget about the vicarious thrills of hard hits (yeah, even in Denver) and bad behavior (especially in Denver).
Can anything be worse than trying to get into a team’s fourth exhibition game? Oh My God! Lots of offense if that’s what turns you on, but the whole game is played by folks you’ve never heard of. And may never hear from again.
The Jets had Sanchez on the field for one series against the Eagles second team. He was great again, going four for four to that nifty tight end, Dustin Keller, twice and once to Cotchery in the end zone. Other than that, they managed to lose the game but nobody really cared.
The Giants game was even more boring but I guess Sinorice Moss made a case for himself, if anybody really cares about Moss. I know he’d shown nothing for at least two years. If I were the Giants, I’d drop him anyway. It’s a little late in the game to decide to show up and play.
Baseball’s getting a lot crazier. I just watched Jim Thome belt out a hit for the Dodgers! I can’t get used to this. Meanwhile, Giambi banged out another big hit for the Rockies. Cliff Lee is pitching for the Phils. Pedro Martinez is too, and he beat Lincecum the other day. And that’s only a tithe (well maybe a mini-tithe) of the players who’ve changed teams since the break.
Everybody’s just picking up players willy-nilly. I wonder if teams feel a little better this year about dumping salaries. Makes sense to me. But it sure does make things confusing. And things are confusing enough, especially if you’re a Mets fan.
I mean, really, what kind of curse got laid on this team! Not only did all the players get hurt but the friggin’ owner went out and lost a lot of his money too, probably more than a a tithe. It’s really not fair. Not only is our present messed up, but now our future doesn’t look that rosy either.
Ah well, I guess in this economy,you just have to roll with the punches, and if the recession or depression or whatever it is we’re in the middle of, finally starts to intrude on our fantasy sports world, I guess we had it coming. It’s certainly intruded on everybody else’s life. Why should we be immune?
Maybe the Mets will become like the Pirates, developing young players and then dumping them at peak value. Even if it could be for just a couple of years, that would be very depressing. Not that it’d be all bad to see young guys playing the game, especially after the years of watching aging fellows not quite living up to what they had done in the past.
I know one thing. I’m really tired of watching Pelfrey. He’s finally made it to my list. How many times can he pitch a good one only to look like a Little Leaguer the very next start. Enough with the head cases already. We already have Ollie Perez, that’s more than enough.
Aah, Minaya will think of something. If anybody’s adept at picking up serviceable players for just a little money, it’s him. And things aren’t totally bad, I suppose. Beltran’s supposed to be showing his face next week, and I guess Reyes will be back next year. Delgado’s gone but so will that salary. If Omar is free to spend it, all will be right with the world.
Meanwhile, Mets fans can try to imagine the Yankees in a short series with just about anybody with two good starters and getting their arrogant butts beat.
Oudin won it on an ace. But there were some long rallies and some wicked forehands mixed in. And this is all happening right up there in Flushing Meadows, hard by Metsland.
Tennis continued into today, of course, and we got to see Maria Sharapova, who only even needs a last name because of one Maria Kirilenko. I love the U.S. Open. And this Open may be enjoying the best weather of any U.S. Open ever. Just a good time for everybody in a beautiful setting.
Today though, the Mets won again, for once not losing the first game of a series. So that’s pretty good, and they beat Carlos Zambrano. The Mets pitcher was Bobby Parnell and, after about five horrid outings in a row, he shut out the Cubs for seven innings. So that’s two in a row for my sorry team, the first time they’ve pulled that off since July 30th.
But one thing definitely caught my eye today, and pretty soon it will be all too apparent to football fans in lots of places. Commissioner Goodell expects that 20% of NFL games will be blacked out this year. That’s one out of five for you math minors. In New York we may be safe but what about the six or seven cities every week that can’t sit back and watch their local football team on TV.
I can’t imagine the uproar. For example, in Denver (which may or may not be one of the cities in trouble), folks can sit home on Sunday morning and see NFL action starting at 10 AM. Then they’ll take a little break maybe and see another game at 1 PM. If the Broncos are blacked out, that goes a long way towards ruining your Sunday morning.
Too many Sundays like that and maybe football fans will have to develop an alternative life style. I can’t even imagine what that would be…maybe attendance at churches will soar to the heights but I don’t think so. People will go skiing or take a ride into the mountains for a day trip. Maybe they’ll realize what they’ve been missing and forget about the vicarious thrills of hard hits (yeah, even in Denver) and bad behavior (especially in Denver).
Can anything be worse than trying to get into a team’s fourth exhibition game? Oh My God! Lots of offense if that’s what turns you on, but the whole game is played by folks you’ve never heard of. And may never hear from again.
The Jets had Sanchez on the field for one series against the Eagles second team. He was great again, going four for four to that nifty tight end, Dustin Keller, twice and once to Cotchery in the end zone. Other than that, they managed to lose the game but nobody really cared.
The Giants game was even more boring but I guess Sinorice Moss made a case for himself, if anybody really cares about Moss. I know he’d shown nothing for at least two years. If I were the Giants, I’d drop him anyway. It’s a little late in the game to decide to show up and play.
Baseball’s getting a lot crazier. I just watched Jim Thome belt out a hit for the Dodgers! I can’t get used to this. Meanwhile, Giambi banged out another big hit for the Rockies. Cliff Lee is pitching for the Phils. Pedro Martinez is too, and he beat Lincecum the other day. And that’s only a tithe (well maybe a mini-tithe) of the players who’ve changed teams since the break.
Everybody’s just picking up players willy-nilly. I wonder if teams feel a little better this year about dumping salaries. Makes sense to me. But it sure does make things confusing. And things are confusing enough, especially if you’re a Mets fan.
I mean, really, what kind of curse got laid on this team! Not only did all the players get hurt but the friggin’ owner went out and lost a lot of his money too, probably more than a a tithe. It’s really not fair. Not only is our present messed up, but now our future doesn’t look that rosy either.
Ah well, I guess in this economy,you just have to roll with the punches, and if the recession or depression or whatever it is we’re in the middle of, finally starts to intrude on our fantasy sports world, I guess we had it coming. It’s certainly intruded on everybody else’s life. Why should we be immune?
Maybe the Mets will become like the Pirates, developing young players and then dumping them at peak value. Even if it could be for just a couple of years, that would be very depressing. Not that it’d be all bad to see young guys playing the game, especially after the years of watching aging fellows not quite living up to what they had done in the past.
I know one thing. I’m really tired of watching Pelfrey. He’s finally made it to my list. How many times can he pitch a good one only to look like a Little Leaguer the very next start. Enough with the head cases already. We already have Ollie Perez, that’s more than enough.
Aah, Minaya will think of something. If anybody’s adept at picking up serviceable players for just a little money, it’s him. And things aren’t totally bad, I suppose. Beltran’s supposed to be showing his face next week, and I guess Reyes will be back next year. Delgado’s gone but so will that salary. If Omar is free to spend it, all will be right with the world.
Meanwhile, Mets fans can try to imagine the Yankees in a short series with just about anybody with two good starters and getting their arrogant butts beat.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Beat Goes On
The Mets saga conTINuuuuues. Just when you’ve decided not to watch, even on TV, here come the Mets again, the Mets you expected, well, maybe not expected exactly, but the team you know they could be, iff they would just pitch once in a while.
Well, pitch they did, well, Pelfrey sure did. It seemed as if he was suddenly unhittable. How nice for him. I just wonder where the heck that pitcher goes every fifth day? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pelfrey. Maybe he can only whip the San Francisco’s of the world?
Then there was this kid Parnell. He sure did very nicely in his first start ever. The kid has some speed and some stuff too. Hell, he could be the number two starter. I got almost excited as the Weather Channel guys at the prospects of that new tropical storm, or the Republicans after helping kill any healthcare changes.
Anyway, in the short term, there’s somebody besides tired old Livan friggin’ Hernandez and the crazy lefty Perez to throw out there. The depth chart now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Hernandez, Perez and Parnell. That’s not too shabby really, they sure are all different. It’s just that you’d like to see some more consistency, y’know?
But starting with the last game vs. Arizona, the Mets are on an impressive run. Crazy Ollie pitched that last game and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 impressive innings. Even the atrocious reliever Sean Green couldn’t lose it for him. Then it was Parnell with the shutout, a shaky Santana which is still not horrible, and then Pelfrey’s little gem. A Mets fan could get used to this.
And just when you thought the baseball gods had forgotten about the Mets, here they came with one more salvo, leveling the one remaining core guy, good ol’ David Wright. It came in the form of a shot to the head, of course, that nobody thought was intentional, but….still. There may have been a feeble attempt at retaliation as roly-poly Bengie Molina was hit by a pitch much later on, but you can never really get even for your rock going down for the count. With a concussion, he may as well be lost for the season, especially this season.
Fernando Tatis is now our third baseman, backed up by a fella named Andy Green, who is, surprise, surprise, a very light-hitting guy indeed. But the lineup against the Giants on Sunday was Pagan, Castillo, Sheffield, Francoeur, Tatis, Murphy, Santos and Anderson Hernandez, which can be a pretty entertaining group. I’m looking forward to seeing if Livan can get by SanFran’s Joe Martinez.
Oh, but just to keep things in perspective, the Mets are 55-62, 12 games back of the Phillies in the NL East and 9 ½ behind the Rockies for the wildcard. And they’re way way back on that list too. It’s good that football season is almost upon us, unless of course you’re a Yankee fan.
The Yankees are way ahead of Boston and are 41-18 at home, the best home record in either league. They lead Detroit in that respect by a game but Detroit has a losing record away from home. The Yanks are also 33-26 on the road. They have the best overall record in both leagues, Mark Teixeira is being touted for MVP and Jeter just passed Luis Aparicio for most hits be a shortstop. So what’s not to like?
Aside from this innings thing with Joba, there’s almost nothing left to criticize. You see little chinks now and then, like Sergio Mitre maybe not being that good, and I suppose Chad Gaudin hasn’t really proven anything yet. And now Matsui’s a little banged up.
But with the Yankees, if they’re close through 6 or 7 innings, you get the feeling they’re going to win the game. There are not that many teams you can say that about.
The big news in the American League is the Texas Rangers. It looks as if they have the staying power to outlast Boston for the AL wildcard. They put them away yesterday head-to-head after losing a tough one a day earlier. And with the same pitcher to close things out, Frank Francisco, who had a 2.01 ERA before Boston lambasted him for 6 big runs on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton…the Rangers have got a hell of a team and even the pitching is holding up. It’s a pitching staff put together by a real man named Nolan Ryan, who pees on pitch counts. This team stayed together and played well, even after losing Hamilton and Kinsler to injuries for, in Hamilton’s case anyway, a good portion of the season.
The Red Sox seem a mess compared to what they had been. Between injuries to key players like Matsuzaka and Wakefield and performance funks from the likes of David Ortiz and the shortstop position, the Red Sox are hanging into the race by the tips of their fingernails. And their confidence had to be shaken by the sweep the Yanks laid on them.
So things should be quite tolerable for the rest of the baseball season, even for a Mets fan. When boredom really sets in, we can just tune in to the NFL station and watch some exhibitions. For me, I’ve been checking out the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, especially QB’s who changed teams or whose team was enhanced by some key additions.
In Buffalo, I watched Trent Edwards looking good throwing to Lee Evans, even with Terrell Owens out with a bad toe. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed Jay Cutler looked lousy with da Bears and Kyle Orton didn’t look that great in his exhibition. Tony Romo looked as if he was trying a bit harder to stay in the pocket and looked pretty good while Donovan McNabb seemed to have an easy time of it in his few minutes on the field.
Then there’s Mark Sanchez. And we’ll see Eli tonight!
Well, pitch they did, well, Pelfrey sure did. It seemed as if he was suddenly unhittable. How nice for him. I just wonder where the heck that pitcher goes every fifth day? It’s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pelfrey. Maybe he can only whip the San Francisco’s of the world?
Then there was this kid Parnell. He sure did very nicely in his first start ever. The kid has some speed and some stuff too. Hell, he could be the number two starter. I got almost excited as the Weather Channel guys at the prospects of that new tropical storm, or the Republicans after helping kill any healthcare changes.
Anyway, in the short term, there’s somebody besides tired old Livan friggin’ Hernandez and the crazy lefty Perez to throw out there. The depth chart now reads Santana, Pelfrey, Hernandez, Perez and Parnell. That’s not too shabby really, they sure are all different. It’s just that you’d like to see some more consistency, y’know?
But starting with the last game vs. Arizona, the Mets are on an impressive run. Crazy Ollie pitched that last game and allowed just one run in 5 1/3 impressive innings. Even the atrocious reliever Sean Green couldn’t lose it for him. Then it was Parnell with the shutout, a shaky Santana which is still not horrible, and then Pelfrey’s little gem. A Mets fan could get used to this.
And just when you thought the baseball gods had forgotten about the Mets, here they came with one more salvo, leveling the one remaining core guy, good ol’ David Wright. It came in the form of a shot to the head, of course, that nobody thought was intentional, but….still. There may have been a feeble attempt at retaliation as roly-poly Bengie Molina was hit by a pitch much later on, but you can never really get even for your rock going down for the count. With a concussion, he may as well be lost for the season, especially this season.
Fernando Tatis is now our third baseman, backed up by a fella named Andy Green, who is, surprise, surprise, a very light-hitting guy indeed. But the lineup against the Giants on Sunday was Pagan, Castillo, Sheffield, Francoeur, Tatis, Murphy, Santos and Anderson Hernandez, which can be a pretty entertaining group. I’m looking forward to seeing if Livan can get by SanFran’s Joe Martinez.
Oh, but just to keep things in perspective, the Mets are 55-62, 12 games back of the Phillies in the NL East and 9 ½ behind the Rockies for the wildcard. And they’re way way back on that list too. It’s good that football season is almost upon us, unless of course you’re a Yankee fan.
The Yankees are way ahead of Boston and are 41-18 at home, the best home record in either league. They lead Detroit in that respect by a game but Detroit has a losing record away from home. The Yanks are also 33-26 on the road. They have the best overall record in both leagues, Mark Teixeira is being touted for MVP and Jeter just passed Luis Aparicio for most hits be a shortstop. So what’s not to like?
Aside from this innings thing with Joba, there’s almost nothing left to criticize. You see little chinks now and then, like Sergio Mitre maybe not being that good, and I suppose Chad Gaudin hasn’t really proven anything yet. And now Matsui’s a little banged up.
But with the Yankees, if they’re close through 6 or 7 innings, you get the feeling they’re going to win the game. There are not that many teams you can say that about.
The big news in the American League is the Texas Rangers. It looks as if they have the staying power to outlast Boston for the AL wildcard. They put them away yesterday head-to-head after losing a tough one a day earlier. And with the same pitcher to close things out, Frank Francisco, who had a 2.01 ERA before Boston lambasted him for 6 big runs on Saturday.
Ian Kinsler, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton…the Rangers have got a hell of a team and even the pitching is holding up. It’s a pitching staff put together by a real man named Nolan Ryan, who pees on pitch counts. This team stayed together and played well, even after losing Hamilton and Kinsler to injuries for, in Hamilton’s case anyway, a good portion of the season.
The Red Sox seem a mess compared to what they had been. Between injuries to key players like Matsuzaka and Wakefield and performance funks from the likes of David Ortiz and the shortstop position, the Red Sox are hanging into the race by the tips of their fingernails. And their confidence had to be shaken by the sweep the Yanks laid on them.
So things should be quite tolerable for the rest of the baseball season, even for a Mets fan. When boredom really sets in, we can just tune in to the NFL station and watch some exhibitions. For me, I’ve been checking out the quarterbacks for fantasy purposes, especially QB’s who changed teams or whose team was enhanced by some key additions.
In Buffalo, I watched Trent Edwards looking good throwing to Lee Evans, even with Terrell Owens out with a bad toe. On the other hand, the much-ballyhooed Jay Cutler looked lousy with da Bears and Kyle Orton didn’t look that great in his exhibition. Tony Romo looked as if he was trying a bit harder to stay in the pocket and looked pretty good while Donovan McNabb seemed to have an easy time of it in his few minutes on the field.
Then there’s Mark Sanchez. And we’ll see Eli tonight!
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Dumb and Dumber
Today I find myself a little sore after having spent hours on a ladder painting my shingles on Thursday. "Oh well", I said to myself, "at least I got the house painted".
If Willie Randolph had had the job, he'd have put Mike Pelfrey on the ladder, then with the job almost done, he'd have replaced him with Billy Wagner. After all, Mike has to live to paint again.
Then when Billy dropped the brown paint can for the shingles all over the white stucco foundation, he'd drag out somebody else. Or two or three more somebody else’s. And the wall still wouldn't be finished. But everybody'd be fresh for the next time. Doesn't that make you feel better?
<>Nobody knows the affects of exercise on the body better than I. And there's no doubt that pitch counts have an affect on a pitcher's performance. But I believe the data is being misinterpreted. A little information can be a dangerous thing.While the brainiacs in baseball are getting a little smarter with respect to the effects of exercise on the body, they still aren't dealing with the information correctly. Instead of losing a well-pitched game by removing your starter after a certain number of pitches, wouldn't it be smarter to let him go as long as he can, through nine innings if he can, and simply rest him another day?
You then maximize your team's chances in the current game. You get a happy pitcher, one who's met the challenge of the day. The fans aren't frustrated by some nebulous decision resulting in a loss. And your pitcher not only gets rested, but maybe gets even stronger for his succeeding starts.
<>Wouldn’t that mess up the rotation? Well, it would certainly affect the “every fifth day” maxim. But how smart is that? When compared to the nonsense being perpetrated on Mets and Yankees fans today, all in the name of pitch counts, a minor alteration to the rotation is certainly more favorable.A change in the roster could also be needed. There might be another long reliever required, another someone capable of giving five full innings. How hard would that be?
The current thinking, managing pitch counts within each game, does not take into account other key ingredients to the psyche of a pitcher, the starter’s confidence and sense of success or the reliever’s entirely understandable misgivings about messing up a heretofore successful outing.
There’s no more superstitious lot than baseball players. Evidence how many pitchers jump over the baseline, or wear the same hat all year, or until they lose a game anyway. How difficult it must be to relieve in a non-relief situation!
The brainiacs are setting the relievers up for disaster. And hurting their starters self-esteem. Not to mention the manager’s psyche. It’s really very simple. I just ask that, instead of managing pitch counts game by game, manage them over the course of the entire season. It really would be easier on everyone, the pitchers, the manager, the fans, and more importantly the team.
There’s been no more shell-shocked team than these Mets. There’s been no more shell-shocked manager than Willie Randolph. The entire situation has swung from questionable to laughable.
The Mets are cursed. They don’t need a new manager or general manager. They need an exorcist. And, while I say this tongue in cheek, there has been some kind of cloud hanging over Shea, and every other stadium the Mets happen to be occupying.
Something always happens to these Mets. They either don’t hit, or get good starts and horrible relief, or they make a mistake running the bases. Or make a critical error. What we have here is a self-fulfilling prophecy, the prophecy of doom.
This team expectation of doom is not without reason. And I must put the fault on management. Blame whoever you want, ownership or Omar or Willie.
Willie only makes a mistake when a decision is made. Every decision he makes comes up zeroes. And, while part of the reason for this lies with the aforementioned curse and team expectations of doom, those expectations have only matured after long experience of failure. Very often, they have been Willie’s failure, Willie’s decision.
While pitching hasn’t been the only problem, it has been the major one. Willie saves his starters and kills his relievers. He kills his positional guys as well, especially the ones he relies on, “his guys”.
Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo, these men are old. They show it just about every day. But Willie keeps them in the lineup. You may say that he has not had good alternatives. But in most cases, any alternative would have been better than playing these two old-timers.
Sometimes, you have to wonder how much control Willie really has. The pitching coach isn’t his choice, for example, and it’s unclear to me who makes the decisions there. Or, even worse, does every decision become a committee meeting?
The hitting coach also makes me wonder. When asked about the team’s failures in situational hitting, his reply was to the effect that he didn’t think his players were the kind of players that could successfully adjust to a situation. Well, I must say, that explains a lot. And their failures in situational hitting have led to quite a few losses.
So let’s recap. The players aren’t the right players, the manager has made bad decisions, the pitching and hitting coaches are kind of questionable, and the team itself seems to be cursed.
Add to this the fact that the owners have apparently leaked some information to reporters that they haven’t bothered to share with anyone else. Where else would the media get the idea that Willie’s job is in serious jeopardy?
While some will question whether a Billy Martin-type or Bobby Valentine could have done any better with this team, I say they could have and would have. At this point, anybody not named Willie would be better.
So let’s pull the trigger already.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
/>
