Okay, I’m psyched. “30 Clubs in 30 Days” is on the tube, it’s raining so I can’t be doing anything else, the grass, the paneling, the roof leak, the paint, and the MLB Channel is featuring the Giants. (No, not those pansies with the secondary that can’t cover).
Oh baby! Here’s Bruce Bochy! (Giants manager).
The Giants are all about pitching. Notables are that little whipper Lincecum and Matt Cain and Barry Friggin’ Zito and more. They have no offense to speak of…well, it’s actually pretty unspeakable.They’ve got this big kid closing too, one Brian Wilson who’s got a great fastball and is wasting his time developing a breaking ball.
What are the Mets all about? Umm….injuries? How about lack of focus? It sure seems that way sometimes. But let me try harder…really think about this team. Pitching? A little shaky, especially the starters if they stay with Maine and Perez. Santana’s looking recovered but will he be the same Santana?
I saw John Maine down in Florida and he was awful. He had a better outing his next time out but here is a guy who looks as if he just doesn’t care. He has no presence whatsoever. I’m really tired of his act. I think a little recess in AAA is long overdue for him. Perez….even if he were having a good spring, (which, to my mind he’s really not, he’s still good one day and awful the next), is an unknown and, if he has a bad start, he should go to Buffalo along with Maine.
That would leave a rotation of Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese and Nelson Figueroa or Bobby Parnell. I’d be happier with that, but it’s hardly a world-beater starting rotation. All is not lost though. Niese can really be very good and Figgy always gives a good effort. I’d rather see Bobby Parnell set up for Ol’ Pinkeye, the closer.
Speaking of relief, I think we can expect big things from them. I really like both the Japanese pickups, Igarashi and Takahashi, and Calero looks good too. They’ve got Feliciano to get out the odd lefty (aren’t they all a little odd?)
All in all, I’d have to say the 2010 Mets will NOT be all about starting pitching. It looks to me as if there’ll be a lot of five-inning stints, except for the horse Pelfrey, and we’ll be seeing a lot of these relievers, which really won’t be such a bad thing, not like 2008 anyway, when it was “batten down the hatches, here comes trouble.”
The relief pitching will keep the Mets in games for that offense.
Are the Mets all about hitting? No, especially as presently constructed. But, if Reyes and Beltran return in good form, things improve considerably. Pagan can be off and on offensively but isn’t a real liability in center. Then there’s Fernando Martinez, the rookie who’s wow-ing everybody but Mets management. To spell Reyes, there is just Alex Cora.
There’re worse leadoff guys in the game than Angel Pagan. (In fact, Reyes is one of them when he’s off in never-never land). Then there is ol’ steady Luis Castillo, who is reputed to be looking to drive the ball more this year, heh-heh. That leaves that all-important three-hole to David Wright, and he’s looking more athletic to me this year, not so bulky like an old softball player. And his swing seems faster, quicker. So the first three spots are reliable.
Manning the four through six lineup spots would be Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur and David Murphy, not necessarily in that order. Bay has impressed me thus far and Francoeur is just a good guy all around. You just wish he’d swing at a strike once in a while. Murphy will be more reliable this year as he ended last year strongly and should benefit from the year at first base, if Mike Jacobs doesn’t drive him up the wall. Jacobs will provide a power threat that Murphy doesn’t really bring to the table.
So I’d say the middle lineup could be a pleasant surprise. There’re runs there somewhere.
Without Beltran and Reyes though, the Mets have just six batters. I count on nothing from Cora and Barajas. Hopefully, the Mets will finally give Omir Santos a chance. That’d improve a bleak seven and eight, but opposing pitchers will be able to pitch carefully to Francoeur and Murphy without a threat to follow.
Bring Reyes and Beltran back and things get way better in a hurry. Then you have eight solid hitters, if Santos catches. There will be nobody to pitch around. That means a lot in the National League, with only the pitcher to contend with at nine. Moving Francoeur and Murphy back to 6 and 7 and inserting Santos at 8 would give the lineup some punch all the way through. Reyes, Beltran, Bay, Wright, Francoeur…..I’m very much looking forward to it.
How about defense? Well, they’ll be okay without Reyes and Beltran but things get better in a hurry if they come back real soon, not because their replacements are bad fielders but just that Reyes and Beltran are terrific. So, yeah, the Mets could be all about defense in time.
So, the Mets won’t be all about anything really, at least not to start with. If they’ll be about anything, it’ll be relief…the return of two star players and that strong relieving corps. They’ll have trouble early with the Marlins and Braves for sure, and forget about playing with the Phillies. The best they could hope for would be a .500 record going into May.
But, when Beltran and Reyes return, the Mets will become a real force. Anyway you look at it, Beltran and Reyes will drastically improve the lineup and the defense. The relief pitching willl keep them in games in the bad times and keep them ahead in the good times.
Prognostication? With Beltran and Reyes - 2nd in NL East and possible wildcard. Without them, 4th.
Showing posts with label Reyes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reyes. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Jose Reyes Batting Third?
Jose Reyes batting third?
My first thought is that it takes his legs away, his biggest asset. So no matter what else may be good about it, it’s a bad idea. Sure, he might be able to hit .300 in a good year. And yes, he could probably hit for power a bit. And he had no problem driving in runs from the leadoff spot when he had the chance. And it’s true that he doesn’t walk very much so his on-base average suffers. And even Jose Reyes can’t score if he doesn’t get on base.
What that means to me is that he’s only a good leadoff hitter, not a great one. He only played sparingly before 2005 and after 2008. From 2005 to 2008 though, he scored 99, 122, 119 and 113 runs. . So how mediocre is that? Not very. Could he have scored more if he walked more often? Absolutely. But he averaged mid-sixties in the RBI’s department for those years from the leadoff spot. How might that number be reduced if he were not such a free swinger?
Reyes also stole a lot of bases in those years, averaging about 65 per year. Although runs scored is the most obvious stat affected by stolen bases, the stolen base also has residual effects not necessarily so obvious in the box score, all of which have to do with the underlying asset that makes the stolen base possible. That is speed.
Speed drives the opposing pitcher crazy, putting added pressure on him to keep the runner close. It also makes him throw more fastballs, making it easier for the next batter to hit. I can’t quantify it as those stats aren’t even kept (it would be impossible to determine it, what would the next batter have hit without Reyes on base in front of him) but his speed adds to the number of runs produced and scored by those following him in the order, not just the next batter but every batter who steps to the plate while Reyes is on base before him.
So Reyes is one hell of a leadoff hitter because he has speed, not just as determined by his on base percentage. Batting third, many times there will be somebody on base in front of him. Reyes will still have his legs, of course, but it won’t matter…he won’t be able to use them.
In exchange for the loss of all this chaos on the bases and turbulence in the pitcher’s psyche, we get a number 3 guy whose batting averages over those same 2005-2008 seasons were .273, .300, .280 and .297, marginal at best for a number 3 guy. So we’re trading a good to great leadoff hitter for a poor number 3 hitter.
None of the above takes into account the enjoyment that Reyes’s type of game has on the fans. Games will only be almost as enjoyable. Instead of leading off the game with a ball of fire, we lead off with…..whom? Luis Castillo? Angel Pagan? Somebody please get me a bag; I’m going to be sick.
This faulty thinking is really the first time I can recall thinking that Jerry Manuel over-manages. Even when he was changing relief pitchers every third of an inning, I figured he had good reason. He had all these situational pitchers and nobody who could get guys out from either side. Even when he put such an emphasis on hitting to the opposite field last year, a move that may have screwed up some successful swings (see David Wright), I figured his approach really couldn’t cause much harm. (I think it actually was helping Beltran before he went down with his injury).
But this move is just not well thought out, which really isn’t like Manuel at all. My hope is that it’s just a ploy…the old “if you don’t walk more, I’m going to bat you third” ploy. Whether this will have any influence on the oblivious Reyes at all is highly questionable. I think Jose is really untouchable as far as being influenced too much by anything, much to the dismay of Mets fans sometimes.
What the possibility of this move does do though is dampen my enthusiasm for both the season in general and the Mets in particular. I used to be a Minaya-Manuel guy. I’m not so sure of that anymore.
My first thought is that it takes his legs away, his biggest asset. So no matter what else may be good about it, it’s a bad idea. Sure, he might be able to hit .300 in a good year. And yes, he could probably hit for power a bit. And he had no problem driving in runs from the leadoff spot when he had the chance. And it’s true that he doesn’t walk very much so his on-base average suffers. And even Jose Reyes can’t score if he doesn’t get on base.
What that means to me is that he’s only a good leadoff hitter, not a great one. He only played sparingly before 2005 and after 2008. From 2005 to 2008 though, he scored 99, 122, 119 and 113 runs. . So how mediocre is that? Not very. Could he have scored more if he walked more often? Absolutely. But he averaged mid-sixties in the RBI’s department for those years from the leadoff spot. How might that number be reduced if he were not such a free swinger?
Reyes also stole a lot of bases in those years, averaging about 65 per year. Although runs scored is the most obvious stat affected by stolen bases, the stolen base also has residual effects not necessarily so obvious in the box score, all of which have to do with the underlying asset that makes the stolen base possible. That is speed.
Speed drives the opposing pitcher crazy, putting added pressure on him to keep the runner close. It also makes him throw more fastballs, making it easier for the next batter to hit. I can’t quantify it as those stats aren’t even kept (it would be impossible to determine it, what would the next batter have hit without Reyes on base in front of him) but his speed adds to the number of runs produced and scored by those following him in the order, not just the next batter but every batter who steps to the plate while Reyes is on base before him.
So Reyes is one hell of a leadoff hitter because he has speed, not just as determined by his on base percentage. Batting third, many times there will be somebody on base in front of him. Reyes will still have his legs, of course, but it won’t matter…he won’t be able to use them.
In exchange for the loss of all this chaos on the bases and turbulence in the pitcher’s psyche, we get a number 3 guy whose batting averages over those same 2005-2008 seasons were .273, .300, .280 and .297, marginal at best for a number 3 guy. So we’re trading a good to great leadoff hitter for a poor number 3 hitter.
None of the above takes into account the enjoyment that Reyes’s type of game has on the fans. Games will only be almost as enjoyable. Instead of leading off the game with a ball of fire, we lead off with…..whom? Luis Castillo? Angel Pagan? Somebody please get me a bag; I’m going to be sick.
This faulty thinking is really the first time I can recall thinking that Jerry Manuel over-manages. Even when he was changing relief pitchers every third of an inning, I figured he had good reason. He had all these situational pitchers and nobody who could get guys out from either side. Even when he put such an emphasis on hitting to the opposite field last year, a move that may have screwed up some successful swings (see David Wright), I figured his approach really couldn’t cause much harm. (I think it actually was helping Beltran before he went down with his injury).
But this move is just not well thought out, which really isn’t like Manuel at all. My hope is that it’s just a ploy…the old “if you don’t walk more, I’m going to bat you third” ploy. Whether this will have any influence on the oblivious Reyes at all is highly questionable. I think Jose is really untouchable as far as being influenced too much by anything, much to the dismay of Mets fans sometimes.
What the possibility of this move does do though is dampen my enthusiasm for both the season in general and the Mets in particular. I used to be a Minaya-Manuel guy. I’m not so sure of that anymore.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Three Words for Mets Panners
In mid-winter every four years, a young man’s mind must surely turn to the thrill of watching the sport of curling….a cold and slick variation, it would seem, of horseshoes or maybe bocce, except for two crazed assistant sliders who accompany this foot-long disk down the ice, somehow magically determining whether the disk will attain its target. Gimme a friggin’ break….and pardon my Latvian.
Latvia, of course, was in the Olympic news as they faced off against their captor Russians in ice-hockey. That thriller could be witnessed on MSNBC also while the regular NBC affiliate carried the ever more popular men’s (using the term very loosely) ice skating. Woo_Hoo!!
And all that nonsense is still more interesting than college basketball and the NBA, where too many teams are chasing too little talent in a star system with not enough stars to go around. And the Knicks might even get Tracy McGrady…about 6 or 7 years late…all in what I’m almost sure will be a thwarted attempt at picking up one of the five or so superstars in the game.
Thank God for baseball. Thank God for the Mets. Thank God for the National League. And damnation to all the rest…the hated Yankees, all Steinbrenner’s money, all Cashman’s Verducci pitch-count crap, the designated hitter rule and finally, all those alleged Mets fans and prognosticators just lambasting Mets management for just about every move they make…or don’t make, as the case may be.
My USA-Today Sports Weekly now informs me in their early-season power rankings that the Mets are the 22nd best team in baseball. I hear on the radio that they’ll finish no better than 4th in their division. What baloney!
How does a team that was a title-contender in 2008, a team that lacked only relief pitching, drop so far in every man’s opinion? Here was a team that picked up that needed relief pitching in 2009 but here also was a team that was then unlucky enough to lose its three biggest stars to injury.
At the same time this Mets team experienced every possible malady known to mankind. They lost one of those relief pitchers very early too. They lost just about every player for significant portions of the season, including their #1 starter, Johan Santana.
And, in order to just get through that stinking 2009, the Mets did some good things. They picked up Jeff Francoeur from the Braves to play right field. Along the way and into 2010, the Mets got arguably the best left-fielder in baseball in Jason Bay. They also picked up two very decent pitchers out of Japan and one Kelvim Escobar who could turn out to be as good as a number two starter, or at the very least, a nice long reliever.
Okay, so they didn’t pick up a second baseman to replace the guy who hit friggin’ .300 and did his job in every conceivable fashion. And they didn’t renew Carlos Delgado, one of those stars who went down in 2009. The one glaring error, but only in retrospect, was the re-signing of Oliver Perez for big big dollars. Failure, thy name was Ollie.
Most of these alleged Mets fans will also point to the failures of Daniel Murphy at first base and do not relish seeing him man the position for 2010 as well. Not me. I think Murphy will improve a great deal over his 2009 season. Most young players do. And he’s got Keith Hernandez in his corner, a hot corner, teaching him the finer points of defense….and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s talking some hitting as well. Keith has never been bashful.
So let’s re-hash and simplify. All those Mets-panners say we’ll get nothing out of either Japanese pitcher, nothing out of Kelvim Escobar, nothing out of Jeff Francoeur, oh, and lest I forget, nothing out of Mike Jacobs, who they acquired for power at first in the event that Murphy continues to do nothing.
Well gee whiz, guys, I think that’s God-awful pessimistic thinking, even for Mets fans. The only real missing piece from 2008 will be Carlos Delgado. Instead of replacing his power at first base, the Mets have added power in left field. And I’m sure every fantasy baseball player in the land would take Jason Bay over Carlos Delgado, any day of the week.
Oh, and Carlos Beltran will probably return in June. He’ll miss April and May for maybe 35 games. That leaves only about 125 in which he’ll play. Chances are he’ll be the old Carlos Beltran, the 5-tool guy who does everything. April and May will belong to Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr., either of whom I’d take over a lot of centerfielders in the game.
So here’s the lineup in June….
1. Ss Jose Reyes – switch - .286 – 100 runs, 50 sb’s
2. 2b Luis Castillo – switch - .292 – 70 runs
3. 3b David Wright – right - .309 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
4. Cf Carlos Beltran – switch - .283 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
5. Lf Jason Bay – right - .280 – 100 rbi’s
6. 1b Daniel Murphy – left - .275 – 70 rbi’s
7. Rf Jeff Francoeur – right - .271 – 90 rbi’s
8. C Omir Santos – right - .260 – 75 rbi’s
9. P Pitcher
Before Beltran’s return in June, there will be a deficit in left-handed power as Wright, Bay and Francoeur all bat from the right side, which is somewhat problematical unless Pagan bats in the middle of the lineup and really doesn’t hit for power. (Detractors will assert that Francoeur and Wright don’t either).
Catching has also been cast as a problem but I don’t think so. Anyone watching Omir Santos knows that he hit .260, and chipped in 40 rbi’s in only 280 at-bats. I suspect two things…one, that he’ll be even more productive with more at-bats and two, he’ll continue to improve as 2009 was really his first year in the majors. Santos could probably deliver over 80 ribbies in 2010.
Let’s go Mets!
Latvia, of course, was in the Olympic news as they faced off against their captor Russians in ice-hockey. That thriller could be witnessed on MSNBC also while the regular NBC affiliate carried the ever more popular men’s (using the term very loosely) ice skating. Woo_Hoo!!
And all that nonsense is still more interesting than college basketball and the NBA, where too many teams are chasing too little talent in a star system with not enough stars to go around. And the Knicks might even get Tracy McGrady…about 6 or 7 years late…all in what I’m almost sure will be a thwarted attempt at picking up one of the five or so superstars in the game.
Thank God for baseball. Thank God for the Mets. Thank God for the National League. And damnation to all the rest…the hated Yankees, all Steinbrenner’s money, all Cashman’s Verducci pitch-count crap, the designated hitter rule and finally, all those alleged Mets fans and prognosticators just lambasting Mets management for just about every move they make…or don’t make, as the case may be.
My USA-Today Sports Weekly now informs me in their early-season power rankings that the Mets are the 22nd best team in baseball. I hear on the radio that they’ll finish no better than 4th in their division. What baloney!
How does a team that was a title-contender in 2008, a team that lacked only relief pitching, drop so far in every man’s opinion? Here was a team that picked up that needed relief pitching in 2009 but here also was a team that was then unlucky enough to lose its three biggest stars to injury.
At the same time this Mets team experienced every possible malady known to mankind. They lost one of those relief pitchers very early too. They lost just about every player for significant portions of the season, including their #1 starter, Johan Santana.
And, in order to just get through that stinking 2009, the Mets did some good things. They picked up Jeff Francoeur from the Braves to play right field. Along the way and into 2010, the Mets got arguably the best left-fielder in baseball in Jason Bay. They also picked up two very decent pitchers out of Japan and one Kelvim Escobar who could turn out to be as good as a number two starter, or at the very least, a nice long reliever.
Okay, so they didn’t pick up a second baseman to replace the guy who hit friggin’ .300 and did his job in every conceivable fashion. And they didn’t renew Carlos Delgado, one of those stars who went down in 2009. The one glaring error, but only in retrospect, was the re-signing of Oliver Perez for big big dollars. Failure, thy name was Ollie.
Most of these alleged Mets fans will also point to the failures of Daniel Murphy at first base and do not relish seeing him man the position for 2010 as well. Not me. I think Murphy will improve a great deal over his 2009 season. Most young players do. And he’s got Keith Hernandez in his corner, a hot corner, teaching him the finer points of defense….and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s talking some hitting as well. Keith has never been bashful.
So let’s re-hash and simplify. All those Mets-panners say we’ll get nothing out of either Japanese pitcher, nothing out of Kelvim Escobar, nothing out of Jeff Francoeur, oh, and lest I forget, nothing out of Mike Jacobs, who they acquired for power at first in the event that Murphy continues to do nothing.
Well gee whiz, guys, I think that’s God-awful pessimistic thinking, even for Mets fans. The only real missing piece from 2008 will be Carlos Delgado. Instead of replacing his power at first base, the Mets have added power in left field. And I’m sure every fantasy baseball player in the land would take Jason Bay over Carlos Delgado, any day of the week.
Oh, and Carlos Beltran will probably return in June. He’ll miss April and May for maybe 35 games. That leaves only about 125 in which he’ll play. Chances are he’ll be the old Carlos Beltran, the 5-tool guy who does everything. April and May will belong to Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr., either of whom I’d take over a lot of centerfielders in the game.
So here’s the lineup in June….
1. Ss Jose Reyes – switch - .286 – 100 runs, 50 sb’s
2. 2b Luis Castillo – switch - .292 – 70 runs
3. 3b David Wright – right - .309 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
4. Cf Carlos Beltran – switch - .283 – 100 runs, 100 rbi’s
5. Lf Jason Bay – right - .280 – 100 rbi’s
6. 1b Daniel Murphy – left - .275 – 70 rbi’s
7. Rf Jeff Francoeur – right - .271 – 90 rbi’s
8. C Omir Santos – right - .260 – 75 rbi’s
9. P Pitcher
Before Beltran’s return in June, there will be a deficit in left-handed power as Wright, Bay and Francoeur all bat from the right side, which is somewhat problematical unless Pagan bats in the middle of the lineup and really doesn’t hit for power. (Detractors will assert that Francoeur and Wright don’t either).
Catching has also been cast as a problem but I don’t think so. Anyone watching Omir Santos knows that he hit .260, and chipped in 40 rbi’s in only 280 at-bats. I suspect two things…one, that he’ll be even more productive with more at-bats and two, he’ll continue to improve as 2009 was really his first year in the majors. Santos could probably deliver over 80 ribbies in 2010.
Let’s go Mets!
Monday, October 5, 2009
And Back to Baseball.....
After a decidedly mediocre week of picks in Week 4 of the NFL action (6-7 against the spread thus far), it’s an easy matter to turn my head back to baseball. The Mets finally get to think about next year. The Twins and Tigers battle for the final playoff spot tonight. The Yanks are all set to play somebody. And Arod incredibly reached 30 homers and 100 rbi’s on his very last at-bat of the regular season.
That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!
No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!
Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.
If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.
Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.
At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.
That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.
Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.
There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?
There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.
At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.
Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.
For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.
The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.
That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?
That last fact is the most amazing stat of all. I’m not crazy about Arod but it is almost magical that he managed to attain still another baseball record in such a fashion. He had 28 homers and only 93 rbi’s entering the contest. Going into the sixth inning, he still needed two dingers and 7 rbi’s for his record 13th 30-homer and 100 ribbie season!
No problem for Arod. He hit a 3-run homer early in the sixth and, after the Rays walked Teixeira with two men on, for the sole reason of guaranteeing their man Pena would stay tied with Teixeira for the AL lead in home runs, Arod had his chance. He made the most of it too. I have to give him a lot of credit. Finally. Even if it could have happened to a nicer guy. He missed 28 games! Unbelievable!
Getting back to the Mets though, we’ll be seeing some changes very soon, and probably first with the coaching staff. It’s pretty much assured that their pitching coach Warthen will be replaced, a move that can’t really be faulted as the Mets staff led the league in walks. They may get a new third base coach as well, and the two moves taken together set a strong precedent for rewarding success and punishing failure. A good thing.
If the Mets do stay the course with their core players, they’ll only need a left fielder. I’ve read over and over that they need a first baseman, a left fielder and a catcher but that’s not necessarily the case.
Omir Santos showed a lot of promise as a clutch rbi guy for a good portion of the season, at least while I was still paying attention. Schneider really had a horrible year at the plate but he’ll be leaving. Yeah, they need a catcher but not a great catcher, not somebody who’ll break the bank.
At first base, who knows? They could re-sign Delgado if he’ll go for a limited number of years, say one or two. And Daniel Murphy, though not possessed of the power numbers required for a first baseman, certainly qualifies as a reserve at first. He did lead the team in home runs even if the number was only 12. He’s a young guy who can only get better.
That leaves left field and one proven pitcher. Left field should be easy. I’d love for the Mets to get Matt Holliday. I don’t think they will but they should. He’s a legitimate star and he only gets better when everything’s on the line. The Cards will probably try to keep him, but the pockets in St Loo aren’t that deep. If Holliday doesn’t become the World Series MVP, he may be available. After all, the Cards already have Pujols. Talk about an embarrassment of riches.
Holliday batted .313 this year with 24 homers and 109 rbi’s. After being traded to St. Louis, his numbers on the year improved dramatically. He smacked 13 hr’s for the Cards in just 2/3 of the at-bats he had in Oakland. His career numbers are .318 and, well, he’s basically your everyday run-of-the-mill 30 homer 100 rbi guy. He’ll be 30 years old in January.
Assuming the Mets can’t get Holliday, or if they’re just not interested, a more likely explanation although I have no idea why any team wouldn’t want one of the premiere players in both leagues, there are also some other nice players out there.
There’s Jason Bay, who was even more productive for the Red Sox, but he batted just .267 and he strikes out a LOT, with 162 K’s to Holliday’s 101. Another intriguing possibility is getting Hideki Matsui, who, despite garnering just 456 at-bats, hit 28 homers and knocked in 90 runs. He’s also the definition of “clutch”. Plus, how nice would it be to keep the Godzilla in New York?
There’re also some other possibly good choices but to my eyes riskier propositions. Rick Ankiel will be available and so will Andruw Jones. Then there’re Bobby Abreu, Vladimir Guerrero and former Met Xavier Nady, to take a bit of a step down. Most of these are either centerfielders or right-fielders but I’m sure Beltran may be ready to move to another outfield position that may be easier on his legs.
At first base, all things considered, I’d stay with Delgado, assuming he can be had reasonably. Available are Hank Blalock, Russ Branyan, Ross Gload, Nick Johnson and Adam LaRoche. While any of them could supply some power, it would be impossible for any of them to provide the leadership and continuity that Delgado would.
Then there’s the starting pitching situation. The possibilities there are almost too numerous to mention. But there are some big names, Bedard and Hudson, Lackey and Lee, Myers and Penny, Piniero and Prior, Sheets and Wolf, Washburn and Brandon Webb, who’d be one of my favorites if healthy.
For comic relief, Carl Pavano will be a free agent once again, currently serving his one-year contract out with the Twins after putting together a pretty nice year. Overall, he’s 14-12 with a 5.10 ERA with 147 strikeouts and just 39 walks.
The Mets situation is fixable. Easily fixable. Things would have to fall their way but don’t they always? I just heard that Jose Reyes will have surgery after so long dismissing the possibility. Beltran is still hurting a bit apparently. Wright can’t hit for power anymore. Delgado is old.
That’s the core. But can the Mets luck stay bad?
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Jose Reyes - Hogan's Goat
When I was 17 years old, I was stopped by a particularly belligerent Bayonne cop because a tail light was out, and then when he found I didn’t have the registration handy enough for him, he said that I was “fugged up as Hogan’s goat”.
Not being Irish, I never really understood how insulting the cop was trying to be. Who was Hogan? Was he an idiot? And what about his goat? Maybe Hogan was okay but his goat was just a mess.
Notwithstanding the fact that I never fully appreciated the depths of this insult, and probably never will, the imagery has stuck with me, and I think of Hogan’s goat whenever somebody does something totally stupid or for a person who seems oblivious to everything and everyone around him.
Do I have to even say it? You know who I’m talking about, right? Is Jose Reyes Hogan’s goat or what? Here’s a guy who runs like a deer. When you look at Jose, you think of the FTD logo, the winged foot. He can hit a baseball too, when he’s not trying to hit a home run.
And he can play that shortstop position like all the greats you can think of, Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio, Ozzie Smith….Jose could play with any of them. He’s got great range, quick reflexes and a gun for an arm.
You could almost say he’s a five-tool guy, hits for average and at least some power, has a great arm, runs really fast and has great fielding ability. With a smile that would light up old Broadway, he delights us when he cruises around the bases like lightning, or makes a stop deep in the hole and then guns that runner down with that bazooka.
He’s probably good in the clubhouse too, he certainly helps to light up the dugout. He’d probably be considered a good team guy too as he’s the first to congratulate a teammate. You could even add that to his credentials. What personnel guy would turn down Jose Reyes? He’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind.
It’s that sixth tool he’s really missing. Like the Wizard Of Oz’s scarecrow used to sing….if I only had a brain.
Ah well, he is who he is. A fatal flaw, that last one though.
When he hits a double that should have been a triple if he hadn’t admired his long drive for so long out of the box, or, even worse, when he then gets caught between 2nd and 3rd base to singlehandedly destroy an inning, you just shake your head.
After all, there he was again on third base, dancing down the line, trying to entice that balk, and he very nearly did. But, alas, it wasn’t to be and the Mets lost again to the Braves, giving them the three-game series, seeming to prove once again that they’re the tougher team, the team that doesn’t beat itself.
Besides, he wasn’t alone to blame for the loss. If you were looking to assign the horns to anyone (there’s that goat again), you could give them to Putz, or even to Beltran, or anybody else who didn’t perform, as long as you except Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield.. They were really terrific in defeat.
But, for those who believe that winning is the only thing, those folks are beginning to realize that truth can sometimes wear a wry face…or is it just their crooked eyes? Can they be right in their perception that the Mets always lose when Reyes throws an inning away?
Some are now thinking of potential trades for Reyes. For Reyes sets the tone for this Mets team, and the tone is all wrong. He’s the leadoff hitter, the spark plug, but seemingly more often than not, he’s a fouled spark plug, one that shuts the whole engine down.
It’s beginning to become an old story too. How many years does a team have to lose before a realization sets in, the one that says you might win with these guys, but the odds are against it. A loss to the Phillies was almost acceptable, if only because that team has a lot of talent, and they are acknowedged to be a tough team, a team with hard-nosed guys, whatever that means, a team with that elusive edge.
But the Braves do not qualify. The Braves don’t have nearly the team that Philadelphia has, nor do they have the talent found on this Mets team. They don’t have good pitching and they don’t have the same quality lineup. They’re a team that the Mets should beat.
And, too often, the finger can be pointed to that crazy leadoff hitter. If he had only not gotten caught, if he had run coming out of the box, if he hadn’t overshot the bag with that slide, if he hadn’t juggled the ball, and on and on and on.
It’s interesting too that Jose’s problems can’t really be addressed in the same manner that you might address another player’s flaws. Jose has proven that over the years, certainly with Willie Randolph and not so much with Jerry Manuel only because Manuel is shrewd enough to recognize that Reyes cannot perform as well under pressure, or at least he has not performed well under pressure in the past.
Some of you might now ask, “But isn’t that what it’s all about?” And you would be right. Unless this fouled spark plug can somehow be fixed, the Mets may never win a pennant, never mind a World Series.
It’s my belief that the change in Jose will come, but it is a change that will have to occur from within. He has to realize himself that he has not played on a winner yet, and has to accept his own responsibility for that fact.
Mets fans can hope that this required introspection doesn’t happen years down the road after he’s been traded for players of lesser value and even less fun.
Not being Irish, I never really understood how insulting the cop was trying to be. Who was Hogan? Was he an idiot? And what about his goat? Maybe Hogan was okay but his goat was just a mess.
Notwithstanding the fact that I never fully appreciated the depths of this insult, and probably never will, the imagery has stuck with me, and I think of Hogan’s goat whenever somebody does something totally stupid or for a person who seems oblivious to everything and everyone around him.
Do I have to even say it? You know who I’m talking about, right? Is Jose Reyes Hogan’s goat or what? Here’s a guy who runs like a deer. When you look at Jose, you think of the FTD logo, the winged foot. He can hit a baseball too, when he’s not trying to hit a home run.
And he can play that shortstop position like all the greats you can think of, Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio, Ozzie Smith….Jose could play with any of them. He’s got great range, quick reflexes and a gun for an arm.
You could almost say he’s a five-tool guy, hits for average and at least some power, has a great arm, runs really fast and has great fielding ability. With a smile that would light up old Broadway, he delights us when he cruises around the bases like lightning, or makes a stop deep in the hole and then guns that runner down with that bazooka.
He’s probably good in the clubhouse too, he certainly helps to light up the dugout. He’d probably be considered a good team guy too as he’s the first to congratulate a teammate. You could even add that to his credentials. What personnel guy would turn down Jose Reyes? He’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind.
It’s that sixth tool he’s really missing. Like the Wizard Of Oz’s scarecrow used to sing….if I only had a brain.
Ah well, he is who he is. A fatal flaw, that last one though.
When he hits a double that should have been a triple if he hadn’t admired his long drive for so long out of the box, or, even worse, when he then gets caught between 2nd and 3rd base to singlehandedly destroy an inning, you just shake your head.
After all, there he was again on third base, dancing down the line, trying to entice that balk, and he very nearly did. But, alas, it wasn’t to be and the Mets lost again to the Braves, giving them the three-game series, seeming to prove once again that they’re the tougher team, the team that doesn’t beat itself.
Besides, he wasn’t alone to blame for the loss. If you were looking to assign the horns to anyone (there’s that goat again), you could give them to Putz, or even to Beltran, or anybody else who didn’t perform, as long as you except Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield.. They were really terrific in defeat.
But, for those who believe that winning is the only thing, those folks are beginning to realize that truth can sometimes wear a wry face…or is it just their crooked eyes? Can they be right in their perception that the Mets always lose when Reyes throws an inning away?
Some are now thinking of potential trades for Reyes. For Reyes sets the tone for this Mets team, and the tone is all wrong. He’s the leadoff hitter, the spark plug, but seemingly more often than not, he’s a fouled spark plug, one that shuts the whole engine down.
It’s beginning to become an old story too. How many years does a team have to lose before a realization sets in, the one that says you might win with these guys, but the odds are against it. A loss to the Phillies was almost acceptable, if only because that team has a lot of talent, and they are acknowedged to be a tough team, a team with hard-nosed guys, whatever that means, a team with that elusive edge.
But the Braves do not qualify. The Braves don’t have nearly the team that Philadelphia has, nor do they have the talent found on this Mets team. They don’t have good pitching and they don’t have the same quality lineup. They’re a team that the Mets should beat.
And, too often, the finger can be pointed to that crazy leadoff hitter. If he had only not gotten caught, if he had run coming out of the box, if he hadn’t overshot the bag with that slide, if he hadn’t juggled the ball, and on and on and on.
It’s interesting too that Jose’s problems can’t really be addressed in the same manner that you might address another player’s flaws. Jose has proven that over the years, certainly with Willie Randolph and not so much with Jerry Manuel only because Manuel is shrewd enough to recognize that Reyes cannot perform as well under pressure, or at least he has not performed well under pressure in the past.
Some of you might now ask, “But isn’t that what it’s all about?” And you would be right. Unless this fouled spark plug can somehow be fixed, the Mets may never win a pennant, never mind a World Series.
It’s my belief that the change in Jose will come, but it is a change that will have to occur from within. He has to realize himself that he has not played on a winner yet, and has to accept his own responsibility for that fact.
Mets fans can hope that this required introspection doesn’t happen years down the road after he’s been traded for players of lesser value and even less fun.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Turn the Page !
What’s next? So Arod was doing stuff way before he said he was. So Sean Green isn’t Superman as a reliever. So JJ Putz isn’t Batman. So the Yanks will keep Joba in his starting role. So Jerry Manuel won’t bunt when he’s supposed to, so Wright can strike out at the worst possible times.
I don’t think I can overreact anymore. You just have to tell yourself there’s a lot of stupidity out there, and real heroes are as rare as hair on a cueball, especially in New York.
Jerry Manuel is really getting me down these days. Too much thinking. Way too much thinking. Especially when everything he does turns out wrong. As many things as he did right last year, he’s almost made up for it this year.
Whether he plays his feelings or the percentages, it just comes out wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Snakebit had no meaning until Jerry. Here’s a guy who just has too many options. He’s always playing the wrong card.
But here’s the good news. Things have got to get better. A person can’t be wrong all the time, although Willy came close last year. At least Manuel has a sense of humor and reasons for his actions. He’s open and honest and all those things one likes in a person, if not necessarily in a manager.
So I’m just going to wait all this bad stuff out. After all, Beltran’s starting to slide again, Tatis just hit a dinger, Delgado should get well again, Wright can’t look like a buffoon for months at a time, can he?
Things will settle down. Murphy looked great the other day on that sliding, whirling, hurling double play. And yes, he slipped again but geez, that could happen to anybody every other day.
I can’t really complain. Everything the Mets have done over the last year had been ok by me. Getting rid of Randolph, getting relief pitching, not dumping Castillo, not getting the big bat, keeping Oliver Perez. I was happy with all of that.
Be careful what you wish for, I guess. That’s all you can say. Eventually things will right themselves. Eventually they’ll stop leaving all those men on base. That’s been the real killer so far. That, and some very bad starting pitching. Oh, and then the relief pitching went south too. But who’s worried?
Maybe I should just stop paying attention for a while. It’s not as if baseball is the only sport around. Heck, the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, the NBA playoffs are going strong, the NHL playoffs are as exciting as ever, even if we have to watch with no New York/New Jersey representation.
The Jets took the football world by storm, moving up to grab Sanchez. The Giants picked themselves up a nice receiver to replace Burress, and then when they realized they still hadn’t really done that, they picked another guy who actually looks and plays a lot like Plaxico. And, just for consistency, they got themselves another pass-rusher.
Surely, with all this other stuff going on, I could afford to give the Mets a break. You’d have to agree that they’re an entertaining team to watch. And it’s beginning to look like this new CitiField should suit them just fine. I could live with lots of triples and fewer home runs. The Mets have the speed for it, and a bunch of flyball pitchers too.
And, as this is written, it’s still April. Everybody and everything in baseball gets a break in April, the slumping batters, the lousy pitchers, dumb managers, sloppy fielders, runners who don’t hit the dirt when they’re supposed to….excepting only steroids users and ticket pricers, especially if they work for the Evil Empire, now more than ever showing their true colors, mostly the colors of money.
There are still about 140 games to play, a whole heckuva lot of games. I’m literally going to turn the page, the April page on my Mets calendar that features an 8 by 11 photo of David Wright. I can’t stand to look at it anymore, thank goodness for May. May features Jose, and I can imagine him banging out another triple.
The Mets just need to turn the page too. Forget April. Forget all those lost opportunities. Forget Shea. Forget the bad pitching. Forget the record and the standings. Just look ahead. It should be easy.
There have been so many good things. Santana’s phenomenal pitching, the bats banging out lots of base hits, the good relief pitching, the seasoned manager who’s seen a little bit of everything. It’ll turn around.
The law of averages demands it.
I don’t think I can overreact anymore. You just have to tell yourself there’s a lot of stupidity out there, and real heroes are as rare as hair on a cueball, especially in New York.
Jerry Manuel is really getting me down these days. Too much thinking. Way too much thinking. Especially when everything he does turns out wrong. As many things as he did right last year, he’s almost made up for it this year.
Whether he plays his feelings or the percentages, it just comes out wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Snakebit had no meaning until Jerry. Here’s a guy who just has too many options. He’s always playing the wrong card.
But here’s the good news. Things have got to get better. A person can’t be wrong all the time, although Willy came close last year. At least Manuel has a sense of humor and reasons for his actions. He’s open and honest and all those things one likes in a person, if not necessarily in a manager.
So I’m just going to wait all this bad stuff out. After all, Beltran’s starting to slide again, Tatis just hit a dinger, Delgado should get well again, Wright can’t look like a buffoon for months at a time, can he?
Things will settle down. Murphy looked great the other day on that sliding, whirling, hurling double play. And yes, he slipped again but geez, that could happen to anybody every other day.
I can’t really complain. Everything the Mets have done over the last year had been ok by me. Getting rid of Randolph, getting relief pitching, not dumping Castillo, not getting the big bat, keeping Oliver Perez. I was happy with all of that.
Be careful what you wish for, I guess. That’s all you can say. Eventually things will right themselves. Eventually they’ll stop leaving all those men on base. That’s been the real killer so far. That, and some very bad starting pitching. Oh, and then the relief pitching went south too. But who’s worried?
Maybe I should just stop paying attention for a while. It’s not as if baseball is the only sport around. Heck, the Kentucky Derby is Saturday, the NBA playoffs are going strong, the NHL playoffs are as exciting as ever, even if we have to watch with no New York/New Jersey representation.
The Jets took the football world by storm, moving up to grab Sanchez. The Giants picked themselves up a nice receiver to replace Burress, and then when they realized they still hadn’t really done that, they picked another guy who actually looks and plays a lot like Plaxico. And, just for consistency, they got themselves another pass-rusher.
Surely, with all this other stuff going on, I could afford to give the Mets a break. You’d have to agree that they’re an entertaining team to watch. And it’s beginning to look like this new CitiField should suit them just fine. I could live with lots of triples and fewer home runs. The Mets have the speed for it, and a bunch of flyball pitchers too.
And, as this is written, it’s still April. Everybody and everything in baseball gets a break in April, the slumping batters, the lousy pitchers, dumb managers, sloppy fielders, runners who don’t hit the dirt when they’re supposed to….excepting only steroids users and ticket pricers, especially if they work for the Evil Empire, now more than ever showing their true colors, mostly the colors of money.
There are still about 140 games to play, a whole heckuva lot of games. I’m literally going to turn the page, the April page on my Mets calendar that features an 8 by 11 photo of David Wright. I can’t stand to look at it anymore, thank goodness for May. May features Jose, and I can imagine him banging out another triple.
The Mets just need to turn the page too. Forget April. Forget all those lost opportunities. Forget Shea. Forget the bad pitching. Forget the record and the standings. Just look ahead. It should be easy.
There have been so many good things. Santana’s phenomenal pitching, the bats banging out lots of base hits, the good relief pitching, the seasoned manager who’s seen a little bit of everything. It’ll turn around.
The law of averages demands it.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Mets and Yanks and the NFL Draft
News from the NFL disturbs and interrupts my thoughts for the Mets today as I discover the Detroit Lions, that most ridiculous of all the losing NFL franchises, has selected another huge question mark with their number 1 pick.
All those losers they took for three straight years at wide receiver haven’t apparently had any influence on them. So a new GM continues in the steps of his horrendously flawed predecessor, gambling on success.
Not that I have any particular thoughts about that quarterback. Stafford’s probably better than anybody out there, but how good are they?
Now I know there are those who think the only way to revive a team is to have that super quarterback, leader, whatever, but the learning curve is long in the NFL and Detroit stinks right now. Detroit should have either taken Curry, the consensus best player in the draft, or they should have traded down.
The Giants and Jets haven’t said much about what they’ll be doing today and that’s as it should be….. I know the Jets need a quarterback, after all, why give the guys they have any chance? And the Giants need a wide receiver, after giving Plaxico the ol’ heave-ho. And let’s not forget Toomer.
It can almost be guaranteed the Giants won’t take a receiver. They like defensive linemen. It doesn’t matter what they need. It doesn’t matter that it’s not a good class. And I wouldn’t even mind. I’d rather have them trade for a wide-out and they probably will. But Braylon Edwards? Mr. Dropsy?
The Jets can’t be trusted anymore to do anything really intelligent. Favre proved that to me. They’re just interested in making a big splash. So look for them to take a good-looking guy, first and foremost, and probably a quarterback. It’ll be “Yes, Mr. Johnson”. Nice to have money, isn’t it? You can get anything you want, but you can’t do it without looking like an idiot, which of course he is.
That’s why the Jets got Vernon Gholston. Big muscles…not much between the ears, mind you, not a good football player but one with unlimited potential. He’ll be a factor in 2013….maybe.
The Giants, thank the football gods, are as smart as the Jets are stupid. They seem to realize that it’s football players that win football games. While the opposition flexes its muscles and runs like the wind but can’t catch, the Giants just play good ball and make them look silly. I love it.
Whoever Reese selects, I’m with him all the way. And I don’t expect him to trade for Braylon Edwards. He may want everyone to think he will but he won’t, unless it becomes a total give-away. Then it’s a moot point. But look for the G-Men to take guys who have proven they can play the game. And the positions will probably be linebacker, defensive line and then offense.
As exciting as the NFL draft may be, my attention is still on baseball and particularly the Mets. Johan Santana won another one last night, of course, and now the fun starts…the rest of the rotation. It wouldn’t even be such a bad situation if our guys could start hitting when it counts. (I hate to say “runners in scoring position” or even “RISP”).
I was soooo happy to see the lineup change though, and happy to see Murphy’s butt planted firmly on the bench. If baseball were all about hitting, he’d be my choice to play, but….alas! It’s not. So we saw guys on the field who can actually catch a ball. Even Sheffield, the poor man’s Brett Favre.
But last night, it was my lineup of choice, with Beltran swapping spots with Wright, who has proven he can’t handle the three spot, at least for now. So it was Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright and Sheffield in the first six spots, and that’s as it should be, against a lefty anyway.
But you can’t hide guys who can’t hit in big spots. Reyes and Wright proved that theory right by leaving 12, that’s twelve, men on base. Reyes keeps swinging for the fences and Wright suffers from the same misconception, that is, that they are the reincarnation of Babe friggin’ Ruth. It was nice to hear the fans let them have it too.
As this is written, I see the lineup for today’s 1PM game is the same with respect to Beltran and Wright, but Murphy and Church are back in the lineup. So it should be interesting to say the least. I’m certainly rooting for Murphy. Church is a better outfielder than Sheffield, will probably hit for a better average, and, as an extra added benefit, does not scowl all the time. (Not that maybe that’s just what the Mets need).
But Pelfrey’s on the mound and that can’t be good. It should be a nice test for him vs. the lowly Nationals. And it’s very nice to know that Manuel will not hesitate to change that starting rotation after this go-around. Most of these pitchers are clueless, beginning with Pelfrey and Maine.
I have to admit that I actually watched the Yanks-Red Sox at least as much as the Mets. I love watching Joba on the mound and, while he pitched like Aaron Heilmann in his last game with Posada behind the plate, Molina seemed to bring out the best in him. While he still can’t bring it at 95 or better, he looked like a pitcher in command, and I give the credit at least as much to Molina as to Joba.
Posada can hit, he can throw out runners, and he thinks everybody is Pettite. If Sabathia keeps losing, you can start looking forward to a lot of head-shaking on the mound. I really think Posada is that bad. Ask Randy Johnson, who preferred the hot-dog guy behind the plate rather than deal with the genius Posada.
Ahhhh, life is good, hope for the Mets and disdain for the Yanks.
All those losers they took for three straight years at wide receiver haven’t apparently had any influence on them. So a new GM continues in the steps of his horrendously flawed predecessor, gambling on success.
Not that I have any particular thoughts about that quarterback. Stafford’s probably better than anybody out there, but how good are they?
Now I know there are those who think the only way to revive a team is to have that super quarterback, leader, whatever, but the learning curve is long in the NFL and Detroit stinks right now. Detroit should have either taken Curry, the consensus best player in the draft, or they should have traded down.
The Giants and Jets haven’t said much about what they’ll be doing today and that’s as it should be….. I know the Jets need a quarterback, after all, why give the guys they have any chance? And the Giants need a wide receiver, after giving Plaxico the ol’ heave-ho. And let’s not forget Toomer.
It can almost be guaranteed the Giants won’t take a receiver. They like defensive linemen. It doesn’t matter what they need. It doesn’t matter that it’s not a good class. And I wouldn’t even mind. I’d rather have them trade for a wide-out and they probably will. But Braylon Edwards? Mr. Dropsy?
The Jets can’t be trusted anymore to do anything really intelligent. Favre proved that to me. They’re just interested in making a big splash. So look for them to take a good-looking guy, first and foremost, and probably a quarterback. It’ll be “Yes, Mr. Johnson”. Nice to have money, isn’t it? You can get anything you want, but you can’t do it without looking like an idiot, which of course he is.
That’s why the Jets got Vernon Gholston. Big muscles…not much between the ears, mind you, not a good football player but one with unlimited potential. He’ll be a factor in 2013….maybe.
The Giants, thank the football gods, are as smart as the Jets are stupid. They seem to realize that it’s football players that win football games. While the opposition flexes its muscles and runs like the wind but can’t catch, the Giants just play good ball and make them look silly. I love it.
Whoever Reese selects, I’m with him all the way. And I don’t expect him to trade for Braylon Edwards. He may want everyone to think he will but he won’t, unless it becomes a total give-away. Then it’s a moot point. But look for the G-Men to take guys who have proven they can play the game. And the positions will probably be linebacker, defensive line and then offense.
As exciting as the NFL draft may be, my attention is still on baseball and particularly the Mets. Johan Santana won another one last night, of course, and now the fun starts…the rest of the rotation. It wouldn’t even be such a bad situation if our guys could start hitting when it counts. (I hate to say “runners in scoring position” or even “RISP”).
I was soooo happy to see the lineup change though, and happy to see Murphy’s butt planted firmly on the bench. If baseball were all about hitting, he’d be my choice to play, but….alas! It’s not. So we saw guys on the field who can actually catch a ball. Even Sheffield, the poor man’s Brett Favre.
But last night, it was my lineup of choice, with Beltran swapping spots with Wright, who has proven he can’t handle the three spot, at least for now. So it was Reyes, Castillo, Beltran, Delgado, Wright and Sheffield in the first six spots, and that’s as it should be, against a lefty anyway.
But you can’t hide guys who can’t hit in big spots. Reyes and Wright proved that theory right by leaving 12, that’s twelve, men on base. Reyes keeps swinging for the fences and Wright suffers from the same misconception, that is, that they are the reincarnation of Babe friggin’ Ruth. It was nice to hear the fans let them have it too.
As this is written, I see the lineup for today’s 1PM game is the same with respect to Beltran and Wright, but Murphy and Church are back in the lineup. So it should be interesting to say the least. I’m certainly rooting for Murphy. Church is a better outfielder than Sheffield, will probably hit for a better average, and, as an extra added benefit, does not scowl all the time. (Not that maybe that’s just what the Mets need).
But Pelfrey’s on the mound and that can’t be good. It should be a nice test for him vs. the lowly Nationals. And it’s very nice to know that Manuel will not hesitate to change that starting rotation after this go-around. Most of these pitchers are clueless, beginning with Pelfrey and Maine.
I have to admit that I actually watched the Yanks-Red Sox at least as much as the Mets. I love watching Joba on the mound and, while he pitched like Aaron Heilmann in his last game with Posada behind the plate, Molina seemed to bring out the best in him. While he still can’t bring it at 95 or better, he looked like a pitcher in command, and I give the credit at least as much to Molina as to Joba.
Posada can hit, he can throw out runners, and he thinks everybody is Pettite. If Sabathia keeps losing, you can start looking forward to a lot of head-shaking on the mound. I really think Posada is that bad. Ask Randy Johnson, who preferred the hot-dog guy behind the plate rather than deal with the genius Posada.
Ahhhh, life is good, hope for the Mets and disdain for the Yanks.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Agony and the Fantasy
Well, it’s the next to last day before my Fantasy Draft and I’m chompin’ at the bit. I’ve looked over all the fantasy rankings, participated in a couple of mock drafts, and already made my selections in a Yahoo Public League. Unfortunately, none of those drafts quite match the upcoming one.
Saturday morning, I’ll be sitting with the fourth pick. Ordinarily, for most beings of the human variety, that would be just fine. The fourth pick gets you either David Wright or Jose Reyes according to the chalk.
But for a rabid Mets fan, it presents a dilemma. Do I really want to watch Mets games all year and die a little every time Reyes pops up while trying to put one over the fence? Do I want to rage at Wright every time he lets the count go to 0 and 2?
Well, the answer to both those questions is an unequivocal no. I don’t want my first pick to be a Met. If I manage to get Beltran on my second pick though, I’ll be really happy. While Beltran can be at least as infuriating as either Wright or Reyes, at least I shall not have wasted a first pick on him.
The other Mets that could wind up being Crabs (my fantasy team) are Johan Santana and JJ Putz, and maybe even Francisco Rodriguez, but I hate picking players who are coming off a career year. F-Rod won’t match last year’s numbers and, as consistent as Santana has been, there’s got to be a clunker coming up soon, especially having thrown all those innings for all those years.
Besides, pitchers are bigger risks than everyday players, what with all those injuries….elbow, shoulder, wrist, hand, fingers, it’s always sumthin’ with those damned hurlers. So I’ve made rules for myself in selecting pitchers over the years, and I’m pretty sure Santana will land elsewhere.
Putz though has been a Crab several times. This is a guy who performs very well every year and yet nobody ever selects him early. I’m pretty sure it’s his name. Who wants a Putz on his team? It’s like bad luck or something, or maybe a premonition, or possibly it may be prophetic of what your team will be….Putz!
Getting back to that first round, though, I’m pretty sure both Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols will be gone. The guys picking at 1 and 2 are too smart or experienced at this to just let those two fellows go floating by. After all, that first pick must be solid. In fact, the first three or four picks should be solid in order to have any chance of winning.
The third guy, my brother, says he’s taking Wright. So he probably will, barring any last-minute brain farts, but he’s more prone to gaseous selections in football. So there’s Jose just sitting there waiting for me, but I won’t take him for those reasons I’ve laid out.
Besides, Jose isn’t getting any younger and, if I may say so, he doesn’t ever seem to be getting any smarter either. And if Manuel should decide he’s the number 3 hitter, only God knows what that will do to Jose’s head. To my mind, Mr. Reyes has a somewhat fragile head, albeit one that always has a smile on it.
Other guys bat close to .300. Other guys steal bases. Hell, I could just pick Willie Taveras in the 15th round or thereabouts. Other guys hit 20 homers, even in our un-juiced era of baseball. And there are even lower-rated guys who’ll score over 100 times. I don’t need no stinking Reyes.
But who’s left? The chalk says Grady Sizemore, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton, Mark Teixeira and Jimmy Rollins, God forbid. The only one of those who appeals to me is Ryan Howard. He hits all those homers consistently and drives in all those runs. But a Philly? Do I really want a Philly, especially in this year of all years for my beloved Mets?
Howard has lost 20 pounds though. He could be more dangerous than ever before. And that’s an absolutely scary proposition. Imagine if that big guy didn’t have one of those long droughts he seems to always have! No, I won’t!! Logic won’t make me. Besides, strikeouts is also a fantasy category and, if Howard knows how to do anything besides hitting homers, it’s strike out.
Oh, one more rule, I won’t take any Yankees, unless his name happens to be Giambi, which of course is impossible this year. Interestingly enough, Teixeira takes his place this year, and for many more years to follow. But he’s out, thank God, a man has to have rules.
Miguel Cabrera….hmm. He certainly meets all the qualifications for a number one. Maddeningly consistent for average and power, and on what could be a very potent Marlins team. But he looks like a softball player, one of those guys who guzzles down a beer and then crushes the can with one hand while burping all the way. Nah! Not for me.
My list is getting really short now. Grady Sizemore, Ryan Braun, Josh Hamilton….Golly, this is hard!
Sizemore is a very nice player, does everything a bit, very consistent and this’ll be his fifth entire year. And he plays for Cleveland, a team I’ve always liked, don’t ask me why. Do I remember rooting for Rocky Colavito? Okay, he’s a definite maybe, but geez, his numbers seem Beltran-like, so why is he a number 1 and Beltran just a 2?
Ryan Braun? Hmm, he seems to be a Sizemore type, a little more power and a little less speed, a Brewer, and in what will be just his third full year. He could explode for a career year, he seems primed.
Hamilton? One full year and he died after the All-Star Game. He’s disqualified.
Hmm, Jose is looking better and better, or maybe I should move down the list…Chase Utley? But they’ll laugh!!
Saturday morning, I’ll be sitting with the fourth pick. Ordinarily, for most beings of the human variety, that would be just fine. The fourth pick gets you either David Wright or Jose Reyes according to the chalk.
But for a rabid Mets fan, it presents a dilemma. Do I really want to watch Mets games all year and die a little every time Reyes pops up while trying to put one over the fence? Do I want to rage at Wright every time he lets the count go to 0 and 2?
Well, the answer to both those questions is an unequivocal no. I don’t want my first pick to be a Met. If I manage to get Beltran on my second pick though, I’ll be really happy. While Beltran can be at least as infuriating as either Wright or Reyes, at least I shall not have wasted a first pick on him.
The other Mets that could wind up being Crabs (my fantasy team) are Johan Santana and JJ Putz, and maybe even Francisco Rodriguez, but I hate picking players who are coming off a career year. F-Rod won’t match last year’s numbers and, as consistent as Santana has been, there’s got to be a clunker coming up soon, especially having thrown all those innings for all those years.
Besides, pitchers are bigger risks than everyday players, what with all those injuries….elbow, shoulder, wrist, hand, fingers, it’s always sumthin’ with those damned hurlers. So I’ve made rules for myself in selecting pitchers over the years, and I’m pretty sure Santana will land elsewhere.
Putz though has been a Crab several times. This is a guy who performs very well every year and yet nobody ever selects him early. I’m pretty sure it’s his name. Who wants a Putz on his team? It’s like bad luck or something, or maybe a premonition, or possibly it may be prophetic of what your team will be….Putz!
Getting back to that first round, though, I’m pretty sure both Hanley Ramirez and Albert Pujols will be gone. The guys picking at 1 and 2 are too smart or experienced at this to just let those two fellows go floating by. After all, that first pick must be solid. In fact, the first three or four picks should be solid in order to have any chance of winning.
The third guy, my brother, says he’s taking Wright. So he probably will, barring any last-minute brain farts, but he’s more prone to gaseous selections in football. So there’s Jose just sitting there waiting for me, but I won’t take him for those reasons I’ve laid out.
Besides, Jose isn’t getting any younger and, if I may say so, he doesn’t ever seem to be getting any smarter either. And if Manuel should decide he’s the number 3 hitter, only God knows what that will do to Jose’s head. To my mind, Mr. Reyes has a somewhat fragile head, albeit one that always has a smile on it.
Other guys bat close to .300. Other guys steal bases. Hell, I could just pick Willie Taveras in the 15th round or thereabouts. Other guys hit 20 homers, even in our un-juiced era of baseball. And there are even lower-rated guys who’ll score over 100 times. I don’t need no stinking Reyes.
But who’s left? The chalk says Grady Sizemore, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Braun, Ryan Howard, Josh Hamilton, Mark Teixeira and Jimmy Rollins, God forbid. The only one of those who appeals to me is Ryan Howard. He hits all those homers consistently and drives in all those runs. But a Philly? Do I really want a Philly, especially in this year of all years for my beloved Mets?
Howard has lost 20 pounds though. He could be more dangerous than ever before. And that’s an absolutely scary proposition. Imagine if that big guy didn’t have one of those long droughts he seems to always have! No, I won’t!! Logic won’t make me. Besides, strikeouts is also a fantasy category and, if Howard knows how to do anything besides hitting homers, it’s strike out.
Oh, one more rule, I won’t take any Yankees, unless his name happens to be Giambi, which of course is impossible this year. Interestingly enough, Teixeira takes his place this year, and for many more years to follow. But he’s out, thank God, a man has to have rules.
Miguel Cabrera….hmm. He certainly meets all the qualifications for a number one. Maddeningly consistent for average and power, and on what could be a very potent Marlins team. But he looks like a softball player, one of those guys who guzzles down a beer and then crushes the can with one hand while burping all the way. Nah! Not for me.
My list is getting really short now. Grady Sizemore, Ryan Braun, Josh Hamilton….Golly, this is hard!
Sizemore is a very nice player, does everything a bit, very consistent and this’ll be his fifth entire year. And he plays for Cleveland, a team I’ve always liked, don’t ask me why. Do I remember rooting for Rocky Colavito? Okay, he’s a definite maybe, but geez, his numbers seem Beltran-like, so why is he a number 1 and Beltran just a 2?
Ryan Braun? Hmm, he seems to be a Sizemore type, a little more power and a little less speed, a Brewer, and in what will be just his third full year. He could explode for a career year, he seems primed.
Hamilton? One full year and he died after the All-Star Game. He’s disqualified.
Hmm, Jose is looking better and better, or maybe I should move down the list…Chase Utley? But they’ll laugh!!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thanks No Matter What
It's the bottom of the 6th at Shea, and the Mets are still down 3-1 to the Marlins and who knows how this thing will turn out. But as I've watched, I realize I'm thankful I've had the opportunity to watch certain players all season long. Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado....they've really given us their all, at the plate and in the field. This occurred to me as I watched Beltran run hard to catch up to one of those Texas Leaguers and make the sliding underhanded grass-skimming catch, the kind of play that can spark a team. That catch brought to mind other Beltran highlight-reel catches, his run into the wall the other day, pictured above, his over the shoulder hill-climbing grab in deepest centerrfield last year in Houston, and his face-smashing run into Mike Cameron. Jose, what can you say about Jose? Night in and night out, he does it all, at the plate, in the field, even in the dugout, and certainly on the basepaths. Tonight, I watched him charge to his left to snag a softly-hit ground ball, then fire to Delgado, who made a beautiful scoop of Jose's hurried throw to nail another Marlins baserunner. And that play brought to mind other plays only Jose could make, all those triples, Jose charging with that high-kicking gallop of his around second and on his way to third. Yeah, and Jose and his high-jumping pirouette to celebrate, well, just about everything. Delgado too, he's been the big guy at the plate, all those timely homers and doubles, sure, but pretty nifty around the bag too this year, at least in the second half. Where would this team be without Delgado? But, alas, there aren't really enough of these guys on this Mets team. You could argue that Wright belongs in this upper- echelon too, I guess, and it's true that he's been pretty steady all year. And he has a knack for making the spectacular play at third, but too often he misses the easy ones. And too often he doesn't hit when you need him the most. My point is .... this team's been a lot of fun to watch, whether or not it makes the playoffs. But there just isn't enough balance. There are the superstars I've mentioned and then a bunch of guys who try hard; sometimes they'll come through but more often they won't. I cringe when I see some of them. I won't name names, we know who they are. Yeah, it's 4-1 now and Feliciano has failed again, and Heilman is on his way to ruining any chance the Mets will have to come back in this thing. How often have we seen that? A lot. Heilman steps off the bag, he's afraid to let it go. I don't blame him. He misses outside, it's 3 and 2 now in another excruciating Mets moment. Now he forces in the 5th run with a ball thrown not only into the dirt but into the dirt about four feet in front of the plate. And here comes Manuel. Again. So...does this team deserve to make the playoffs? Not really. There just aren't enough good players. I won't harp on the relief staff again, but really.....and what could this team accomplish in the playoffs anyway? But they're fun to watch. There can be no doubt about that. Thanks, Carlos and Carlos and Jose. Oh, and Johan too. Too bad there aren't more like you. | |||
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Great Game - Bad Result
What a game ! Forget about the Red Sox-Yankees; last night was all about the Mets and the Phillies. It pains me to say the Phillies were just better, but I really think they were. The Phillies endured the slow start, the Phillies fought back, the Phillies got the big hits and the Phillies had the better relief pitching. And of course they won it by a score of 8-7 in 13 terrific innings of baseball.
The things that'll stay in the mind's eye of this Mets fan are as follows:
1.Brian Schneider, the catcher acquired for defensive purposes, totally misplaying a very good relay throw by Damion Easley in the bottom of the 9th. That was the game right there.
2. Delgado and Beltran looking silly against Brad Lidge
3. the brilliant relief pitching of Aaron Heilman in the 10th through the 12th
4. great plays on ground balls by Delgado and Reyes
But the worst thing about last night's game was that every time a Phillies batter came to the plate, I worried a lot. For every Mets batter that came up in those late innings, I expected nothing. And got it.
Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and even guys like Jayson Werth are big-time players. When the game is on the line, they seem to come through. The same can't really be said for these Mets, as much as I hate to think it.
As good as Delgado has been since Manuel took the reins, he hits mistakes. If a pitcher can get a good breaking ball over the plate for strikes, he can take Delgado out. The same goes for the other Carlos, Beltran.
In that bottom of the ninth against Lidge, they weren't just ineffective, they were pitiful. Beltran, as he does way too often, took two breaking balls for strikes, then missed by a foot on a ball in the dirt. Delgado at least took a few swings, even if he missed by quite a bit on every one.
The Mets still have the edge in starting pitching though, and hopefully Johan Santana will continue his hot streak tomorrow. If the game is decided by the bullpens, the Mets will be in bad shape.
Even though Aaron Heilman was magnificent last night, he won’t be able to throw tomorrow. I have no faith in Schoeneweis whatsoever. He looks as if he doesn’t care. I don’t think he does. I’d like to see the Mets just drop him.Smith and Feliciano can be good in spots. Luis Ayala should have picked up another save last night, but he was done in by his catcher. The Phillies had made the big mistake, sending the slow-footed Jayson Werth home on a hard shot to right. Church gunned it to Easley. Easley gunned it to Schneider.
If Schneider steps up to take the throw, the runner is out by a mile. Instead, Schneider backed up and made an easy play difficult. The game hinged on that play.The great players look forward to those opportunities and step up. The lesser ones back down. Schneider backed away and the game was lost. The Phillies had tied it. I waited to see whether Schneider would redeem himself at the plate later on. That sometimes happens with good players. Schneider showed nothing.
While it’s not impossible that the Mets can still win this division, I have to say it doesn’t look good. The Mets seem to have taken a step back with the “additions” of Church and Castillo. John Maine’s injury looks ominous at this juncture. And Pedro looked his age last night.Negatives, I’m full of them, I guess. There are some positives. Baseball is such a weird game and the season is such a long one. Players who look bad one night can look great the very next day. But the chemistry the Mets had seems lost for now, and the Phillies should just get stronger, what with last night’s big win and Rollins playing better.
But Reyes and Wright are great players. Wright made a big play on a hard ground ball to his right to save the game last night, even though he did look a little clumsy in doing it. He gets the hits when they’re needed more often than not. He looks confident in big situations.Reyes is just a great player in all aspects of the game, a guy you love to watch and a guy who loves to have you watch him. He does it all, at the plate and in the field, on the basepaths and even in the dugout.
The Mets need more players like them. Too often, the two Carlos’s can’t overcome good pitching. They feed on the pedestrian guys, but there aren’t too many of them on teams likeAnd I really liked the chemistry they had there for a while, with Argenis Reyes at second, Murphy and Evans platooning in left field and Tatis in right. While there’s certainly nothing wrong with a player such as Church, his return to the lineup hasn’t added anything yet.
I’m certainly hoping these Mets can come back still one more time from a hugely disappointing loss. They certainly have the right guy on the mound today to do just that. And then there are Perez and Pelfrey and Pedro too, when he’s feeling it. ButIs any lead too large? Is any ballpark large enough to hold the ball in the park against this team of relievers? Will Jerry Manuel’s head bust wide open one day after still another exercise in juggling totally inconsistent relievers? It’s like doing the Sunday Times crossword on a daily basis.
Whatever happens down the stretch, one gets the feeling that it’ll be exciting. And I guess that’s just about all we can realistically hope for, great baseball, good pitching, good hitting, plays at the plate and extra innings.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thankfully Wrong....
Okay, I was wrong. The Mets weren’t in trouble after all. It didn’t matter that they lost a really tough on on Tuesday night, that Jerry Manuel hadn’t let Johan Santana finish the game, or that the Phils knocked three different relievers around to the tune of six runs.
Within a few hours of my Wednesday column of doom, the Mets would come back. John Maine survived and Jose Reyes helped cement the win in Game 2. And last night, Oliver Perez and Carlos Delgado did even better.But, best of all maybe was the way they did it in Game 3. Phils starter Jamie Moyer had pretty much shut the Mets down while Oliver Perez had stymied the Phils even more spectacularly. But with the score tied at 1 in the eighth, Perez got into some trouble, hitting Ryan Howard with a pitch to load the bases. Stepping up to the plate was none other than Jayson Werth, who had slugged a huge homer off Perez in the 6th to tie the game.
And who should Manuel call on to bail the Mets out of a jam? None other than the unflappable Aaron Heilman, another of those up and down Mets relievers. But Aaron was up to the task last night, blowing a couple of fast balls by the big slugger, followed by another that had a little too much of the plate and Werth drove it a long way once again.But this time, you could see that centerfielder Carlos Beltran had a bead on it, and the Phils threat was suddenly over. Perhaps motivated by their near demise in the top of the eighth, the Mets struck gold in the bottom half.
Robinson Cancel, who is becoming a bigger cog in the Mets wheel, singled and moved to second on Reyes’s bunt. After Phils reliever J.C. Romero snagged a broken-bat liner off the bat of Endy Chavez for the second out, he intentionally walked David Wright to load the bases for Carlos Delgado.So there it was, lefty on lefty, with the game on the line. Carlos, who hadn’t had much luck against Romero in the past, nevertheless hung tough and managed to drive an outside pitcher’s pitch to the opposite field, scoring Cancel and Wright to spot the Mets to a 2-run lead. The Mets intrepid cleanup hitter had done it again.
And, just as he did in Game 2, Billy Wagner came on in the 9th to get two fly balls from Victorino and Feliz, and, after allowing a base hit, retired 2007 MVP Jimmy Rollins on a hard ground ball. The Mets would end the day in first place in the National League East and solidify their lead in their head to head contests with the Phillies.It must be pointed out, though, that while Wagner was ultimately able to close out both Games 2 and 3 for the Mets, nobody knew that on Wednesday morning. If I had known the Mets would have Wagner available for the rest of the Series, my outlook wouldn’t have been nearly so miserable.
To his credit, Jerry Manuel was gracious after the game, and did not harp on the fact that Mets fans were upset, or that every beat writer with a pen and a keyboard had been prophesying his team’s doom.He singled Oliver Perez out for his fine 12 K performance and talked about Delgado, not just for his prowess with the bat, but also for his leadership in the clubhouse. Jerry was pleased that Carlos’s staggering success at the plate would only enhance his standing as a leader in the clubhouse.
Could that be the key to Delgado’s surge at the plate for Manuel, an acknowledgement of Delgado’s importance as a leader? Is it possible that Willie didn’t appreciate his efforts, or wasn’t able to express his regard in the same way? I guess we’ll never know unless some cable station does a reality show on an out-of-work baseball manager.It’s not that important now, of course. For whatever reason, the Mets are doing much better than they had under Willie. Whatever peccadilloes Willie had are irrelevant now. The Mets can look forward to a brighter future, with better hitting for sure and more timely pitching as well.
And, looking forward, the immediate future looks hard. The Cardinals come to Shea with a better record than the Mets, followed by a series with the surprising Florida Marlins, who have been hovering around the top spot in the division all season long.The biggest question now is whether the Mets should pick up an outfielder. Once again, Ryan Church is hurt and may be unavailable for some time. Moises Alou is unavailable. The Mets have been doing well by surrounding Beltran in left and right with Fernando Tatis, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez and a kid named Nick Evans. But will they do as well in September and October as they are now?
While I think the Mets could stay pat and survive, it’s probably not the optimal solution. I’d like to see them pick up Xavier Nady. Xavier used to be the Mets rightfielder before he was unceremoniously traded away. After the Mets lost Duaner Sanchez to injury in 2006, they picked up Roberto Hernandez from the Pirates and last night’s hero, Oliver Perez.
While Nady was once thought to be just a part-time player, Nady’s hitting .330 this year with runs and rbi numbers in the 50’s for the lowly Pirates. I’d love to see him back again. He was never a great fielder, but he’s one of those guys you feel comfortable with at the plate. He’d look good in blue.I understand the Pirates are asking the world for him now. Maybe they’d like Oliver Perez back in the black and gold. That won’t happen.
But if the Mets can’t make a trade, I think they’ll be ok. With or without another outfielder, they’re too tough to just fold under pressure.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Big Series at Shea
The Mets did it again last night, they impressed the heck outta me. Everybody's doin' sumthin' - Reyes, Beltran, Wright, Delgado, but also guys like Duaner Sanchez, Ramon Castro and still another Reyes named Argenis. They came back and then held on to beat the Reds 7-5 and everybody played a part. What a nice way to come to Shea....against the team sharing the top spot with them in the NL East!
Even though Mike Pelfrey, after about a month of superior pitching, finally came back to earth, the Mets just did what needed being done to keep themselves in the game and then put some pressure on their opponents. Duaner Sanchez was my favorite last night, although Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado made good cases for MVP’s of the game.Big Series at Shea ! When was the last time we felt that? I mean, actually feeling GOOD about it? Johan Santana is just 8-7 this year, but you have to feel pretty confident with his matchup against the Phils newly-acquired Joe Blanton.
Then it’s John Maine against Brett Myers, and neither of them are lighting it up statistically, but I’d rather haveSo, the Mets starting pitching will be good, the relievers have been pretty steady, all things considered, and, for once, the lineup seems pretty formidable too. For power, we have Wright, Delgado and Beltran. And a bunch of pains in the neck, led by the biggest pain of them all, Jose Reyes.
Reyes has now scored 71 runs, is batting .300 and even has 10 homers and 43 rbi’s. If triples mean anything to you, he is the all-time Met master of the triple. He’s stolen 33 bases. Yeah, Jose can be a HUGE thorn in any opponent’s side, and did I mention he’s a pretty flashy shortstop too?Yes, the Phils have a big job ahead of them. Not that they don’t have some formidable weapons themselves, guys like Utley and Howard and Rollins, Werth and Jenkins. But are they jelling like the Mets are right now? That would be a decided NO.
I almost hate to say it. The managerial change energized these Mets. Big-time. Even though they would seem to be missing a couple of pieces. Like a couple of outfielders. But the fill-ins have been pretty amazing.Damian Easley at second base has been steady Eddie, Fernando Tatis provides another pretty serious power threat when he’s swinging the bat well, and Marlon Anderson seems to finally be coming back to the land of the living. This new Reyes is another guy they plug in at second, in the field and in the lineup too, and he just keeps delivering.
Jerry Manuel has been a lifesaver, seemingly providing EXACTLY what these guys needed to perform as a team. You can feel the confidence boost as a palpable thing. Same guys, different level. When the game is on the line, they get tough.One surprising statistic from Sunday’s game is the 32 men the Mets left on base. The Reds left 5 men on, yet the Mets were able to pull it out. This is a game the Mets could surely have lost in the old days. The old Mets wouldn’t have been able to overcome that much adversity.
Of course, you have to play the games. It’s great to count chickens but you have to keep performing. But you get the feeling that this team will keep it up. They’re having fun. They’re winning. Even when they aren’t at their best.Against the Reds, it was like a game of who’ll blink first. And yesterday, after a couple of big strikeouts and Met plays in the field, it was the Reds who would bat their eyes. It was an error in the field that propelled the Mets to the victory, Edwin Encarnacion’s bad throw to second short-circuiting a potential double-play while scoring a run for the Mets.
Baseball is a funny game, a game of fine nuances that most people miss, if it weren’t for some fine analysis by guys like Keith Hernandez. There’re quite a few decisions being made on every pitch. It’s the combination of all the variables that produce the result. In the case of the Mets, those results have been very good, so they’re combining those variables really well.It’s not just Jerry Manuel either. It’s that new pitching coach Warthen, who seems to be helping Oliver Perez especially, and it’s Omar Minaya, who’s juggling these guys in and out, Argenis Reyes and Nick Evans especially as of late.
What are some things to worry about? (I wouldn’t be a Mets fan if I didn’t worry about SOMETHING).I worry that Santana will serve up some home run balls to those Phillies bangers, not just Howard and Utley, but Rollins and Jenkins and Werth too. And then there’s Met-killer Pat Burrell.
I worry about the Mets coming home to Shea, despite the fact that they’re 28-18 at home. I’m hoping the fans can keep their cool through any rough spots. This team doesn’t need to have any reservations about themselves. This is a team that rolls when it’s feeling it, and a bunch of booing never helps anybody “feel it”.I worry about the Marlins too. They’re 7-3 in their last ten games and they’ve got some fearsome hitters, all young and feisty. And they just beat the Phils 2 outta 3. They have their own pains in the neck, no one bigger than a guy who has scored even more runs than Reyes, a guy named Hanley Ramirez.
And I worry that, should the Mets NOT win the NL East, they’ll have a little trouble making the playoffs. Both the Cards and Brewers in the NL Central have better records than the Mets. They may not catch the Cubs but they’ll be serious contenders for the wildcard.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Credit Where Credit Ain't Due
Well, the Mets lost another big one last night, big because all their games are big given their situation, but also big because their biggest stars both failed in the clutch.
David Wright misplayed a ground ball that would have been the third out in the second inning, giving the heretofore hard-luck Mariners another opportunity with the bases loaded. And they capitalized big-time as their pitcher yanked a high and outside Santana fastball over the fence.
The early returns from Mets fan-dom seem to indicate a distinct finger-pointing at Santana, multi-million dollar baby Johan Santana, who, after all, fell to just 7-6, but he still retains a very respectable 2.93 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.
Well, it’s always fun to knock the millionaires but the object of fan wrath last night should have been with Wright, who isn’t exactly on his way to the poor house himself. Wright made the big error, then another error in the 8th, and was pretty unremarkable at the plate too.
Wright’s not doing all that badly overall, what with 56 rbi’s, but he’s batting just .272 and has been remarkably bad versus right-handed pitching, batting just .222 while banging left-handers at a .435 clip. He’s scored only 44 runs but that’s more a function of the under-performers following him in the lineup.
But really, Wright was bad last night. Santana was not. His biggest mistake was to say after the game something to the effect that the Mets have to do the job in the field. Now, that may have played well in
There should be a stat kept on multi-millionaires who say dumb things, or inappropriate things anyway. Wright obviously screwed up, and I can say so, but Johan, you have to suck it up and take the heat. It’s not as if you were blameless.
Yeah, sure, it was a good pitch that got hit out, but c’mon Johan, it was the darned pitcher. In that situation, you just can’t serve up anything that could be yanked out like that. Against anybody, never mind the pitcher. You’ve got a change-up, it seems to me that ANYTHING that had a little movement to it would have been a better choice in that situation. And you could have been a little more gracious after the game.
That being said, the locals looked extraordinarily lifeless last night. I had been hoping for a better performance upon returning to Shea. Too much partying upon returning home? The Mets banged out a paltry four hits on the night, and worse, those four hits were attributable to just two players, Reyes and Beltran. Oh yeah, Castillo did work a base on balls and later scored.
All the rest, fuhgeddaboudit. Wright, Delgado, Nixon, Easley, Castro and Chavez produced nothing. Hernandez is a great pitcher but he only pitched into the fifth inning after sustaining an injury while blocking the plate against Beltran, who charged home on a wild pitch. And kudos to Beltran for making some better use of those quick feet lately.
But the Mets made each of the Mariners relief pitchers look like the second coming of Mariano Rivera. They managed three walks and two hits off the four relievers while managing to strike out six times.
Jerry Manuel’s calming influence may have been felt last night, but if so, maybe that wasn’t quite what was needed in that spot. After all, the Mariners were in desperate straits, having just fired their manager, McLaren after putting up just 27 wins coming into the end of June. You had to figure they’d be dangerous.
And, come to think of it, the Mets do seem to play to the level of their competition. They do well against the Angels but lose four to the last place Padres. And now losing to the Mariners, and looking even worse than the result.
To Manuel’s credit, he is responsible for the renewed running effort from Beltran, and he will apparently continue his resting of key players, and, as one could have expected, Wright will be rested tonight. (A little better timing would have been good).
For now, though, the Mets have to put a better face on their losses, and try to pull for one another, take the hit from the press, shoulder the blame, and give your teammate a pass when you have the chance. Hopefully, there won’t be many more opportunities like that.
Although nobody in the NL East seems to be playing that well lately, it’s high time for the Mets to turn things around, if they have it in them at all. It’s not as if there aren’t some encouraging signs.
Pedro is back, and though his comeback has been nothing to write home about, he hasn’t been too bad. Pelfrey has been looking good,
Even more encouraging, Ryan Church should be returning soon, and, although he didn’t do much last night, Trot Nixon has provided a bit of a boost, albeit if only against right-handers. And last night’s right-hander WAS pretty darned tough.
But, no matter how this season turns out, it’d sure be nice to think these Mets at least like one another and are worthy of whatever accolades they may get. You don’t see the Yankees berating one another, at least not publicly, unless of course, it’s coming from the crazy owner.
I’d like to see the press give the Mets a break, but I don’t see that as a real possibility. It’s too fascinating a story, approaching reality shows for intrigue and extreme pathos. Willie, Pedro, Johan, two Carlos’s, and Jose Reyes, boy wonder. And now, of course, we have our own Gandhi in the person of Jerry Manuel.
So c’mon Johan, that was one hell of a try Wright gave on that ground ball !
Thursday, June 19, 2008
A Manuel for Success
The Mets won their first game under Jerry Manuel tonight, coming from behind to defeat the Anaheim Angels 5-4 in ten innings, a game that may have been the Mets biggest win in two years. Not only was it a come-from-behind win but it came against a first-place team on the road.
There were several heroes tonight, among them Jose Reyes, David Wright, Damion Easley and Billie Wagner, but maybe the biggest hero was the new manager, Jerry Manuel, who the day before had outlined for his team how they would change and why the changes would help them win.
While Randolph was complaining in New York about the way he was fired, thinking it was just a couple of his coaches who were getting whacked, an outcome with which he would have apparently been totally okay, Manuel had already started implementing his plans for success, resting his key players and finding roles for his relievers, helping his team visualize success and outlining how it would be achieved.
Jose Reyes, who had been rested yesterday in Manuel's debut, looked rejuvenated all night and scored the Mets first run all by himself. Carlos Delgado, playing as the designated hitter, hit a home run. David Wright, who had been the DH yesterday, drove in the tying run in the ninth. He also made a terrific one-handed grab of a slow ground ball and rifled the ball to first base to nab the speedy Howie Kendricks, thus staving off a potential Angels rally.
And Damion Easley, who took over at shortstop for Reyes last night and looked bad doing it, failing to cover second in one case, tonight hit the game-winning home run in the 10th. But it wasn't over yet. Billie Wagner found his fastball once again, and shut down the dangerous Angels in the 10th. His fine performance followed another great inning by Duaner Sanchez, who got the win, in the ninth.
Hopefully, this huge win will take the heat off the Mets, at least momentarily, as the writers in
The rotation tonight was as any reasonable person would have expected. Oliver Perez experienced his usual jitters but did complete his six innings allowing just four runs, followed by Joe Smith in the seventh, Scott Schoenweiss in the eighth and Duaner Sanchez in the ninth. Wagner finished up nicely. In short, we saw professional pitchers going out and performing in the roles for which they were acquired.
Willie may have decided to throw in Aaron Heilman again, or Pedro Feliciano, or, who knows, anybody who showed up with a mitt. Although I know the Willie apologists will take issue with still more Willie-bashing, I think it’s justified, given Willie’s response to his firing, a response that has me shaking my head.
Omar’s biggest mistake was that he did not pull the trigger sooner. He also played his hand so very close to the vest that Willie was shocked when the axe finally fell. I think Omar was done in by his own sense of humanity, which prevented him from acting with cooler determination.
His comments regarding the fact that Willie was the first black manager in
That Omar emphasized several times that Willie was “his hire” also is a reflection of his own insecurities, and an extreme reluctance to admit his own mistake. It does not speak well to his confidence in his own position, one that he has coveted for his entire life.
In short, all these factors prevented Omar from firing Willie last year, when many less feeling General Managers would have pulled the trigger, and would have been entirely justified in doing so. That Willie should now express nothing but shock and resentment is entirely unjustifiable. He should have expressed his thanks for the opportunity, a chance that no one but Omar had ever offered him.
There also seems to be a great deal of resentment among the
I think the answer to that question would reveal a great deal about Willie’s inflexibility, his recalcitrance, his refusal to have his beliefs questioned, his inability to function well in an organization. And all or even any one of those characteristics would have contributed to his failure as a manager.
Jerry Manuel in just two days has exhibited managerial talents that Willie never had shown. Manuel has laid out a strategy for getting his team better. Resting key players, especially for an older team, can only help, and it may have already shown its effectiveness. Having clearly defined roles for players, a concept that should have been painfully obvious, was never that under the reign of Willie Randolph.
So let’s move on,
I’ll look forward as a Mets fan to a continuation of good baseball, come-from-behind victories and 25 players all uniting behind someone they view as a good manager, a fine tactician and strategist, someone who acts in concert with the rest of the organization and who can extract the best out of a team. His name is Jerry Manuel.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Throwing It In....
How important is it really? With Willie, without Willie, it's just a game. This fact was driven home to me this morning as I read about a service held for the
Things would probably be a lot better at Shea, though, if the Mets would just play the game like a game. Yesterday, I watched helplessly as Reyes booted a hard bouncer and Beltran made an ill-conceived dive at a soft liner to centerfield. Result – a few more unearned runs for the Marlins.
If things were allowed to settle down somewhat, if the Mets had made a managerial change last night, the pressure would have been relieved and maybe Reyes makes that stop; maybe Beltran takes that liner on a hop, thus minimizing the damage.
However, the big news last night was that Willie Randolph would keep his job as manager. Although I think it's probably a mistake, if just for the distraction it's causing this team, I've made a conscious decision not to live and die with the Mets anymore, at least not for the foreseeable future. If the Wilpons don't care what their fans think, why should I care about them, or their team?
Keeping Willie at this point really makes no sense though. The Florida Marlins are leading the NL East with a 30-20 record, which puts them on a pace to go 97-65 for the season. The Mets, currently at 23-26, would have to go 74-39 for the rest of the season in order to tie the Marlins That means they'll have to win 2 out of 3 games for the rest of the season in order to take the division. Very unlikely.
Their wildcard chances aren't that much better. The Cubs and Cards are now at 30-21 and 30-22 respectively. The Diamondbacks are also 30-21. So it still comes down to winning two out of every three for the rest of the season. For a team that can't even achieve a .500 record past the season's quarter point, I'm afraid that's almost impossible.
It wouldn't necessarily have been inconceivable if they had changed the team chemistry somewhat. But they missed their chance now. The Wilpons, secure in their new stadium deal and having Willie under contract for another year, decided just to let the season go. Why send good money after bad?
The Wilpons must've missed all the bad fielding, the horrible base-running, the players playing tight as bowstrings. Or they've already decided the real fault has been in the player selection, and that Omar will eventually be replaced anyway. And, although they might be correct in that assessment, I think it was premature. A managerial change would have given this team a chance.
After all, a not too different team came very close in 2006 to winning it all. It had the same ingredients really, Wright, Reyes, Beltran, Delgado. Of course, LoDuca was the catcher and Valentin was the second baseman, and Shawn Green manned one of the outfield positions, and the pitching was different. Willie was the manager, of course, and well, I guess it really doesn’t take that much tweaking to screw things up.
The tweaks haven’t worked. That’s for sure. Castillo has been bad to disastrous. Delgado’s a couple of years older, but then so are Reyes and Wright, which, in their cases, should have been a very good thing.
The lineup was a little different but not much. Beltran used to bat third with Delgado at cleanup and Wright batting fifth. Wright’s ascendancy and Delgado’s slide dictated a change, but that shouldn’t have made all that much difference either.
Interestingly enough, though, Tom Glavine was 15-7 in 2006. Steve Trachsel was 15-8. Those were the two big guns and they’re not here anymore. El Duque was 9-7, Pedro Martinez was 9-8 and John Maine was just 6-5. Oliver Perez had just come over from the Pirates and finished 1-3. Although Brian Bannister never got much of a chance, he’s a nice pitcher now for
It’s obvious that this team could have really used Pedro and El Duque this year, from the start.
It should also be noted that Moises Alou had nothing to do with 2006. And, in retrospect, he has had almost nothing to do with 2008 either. There were some other perhaps minor ingredients to that 2006 team that the 2008 version may be missing, players such as Cliff Floyd and Julio Franco. And Kaz Matsui won a pennant with the
So, except for Johan Santana, a lot of the moves have been pretty bad, to say the least. Probably the biggest difference to team chemistry has been the Valentin injury and the hobbled Castillo as a replacement. Valentin, playing in just about 2/3 of a year, with 387 at bats, had 62 rbi’s and 56 runs scored. Castillo thus far has just 13 rbi’s and 22 runs scored, and he has been a liability in the field.
They say a team has to be strong up the middle, and the Mets have Castillo at the keystone and Reyes playing erratically. They say pitching and defense wins pennants and World Series and the Mets have only three starters pitching creditably,
Championship performance? Certainly not. Championship talent? Probably not. We may never know. And the players still don’t know if they have a manager for the season.
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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