For a Mets fan, nothing could be better than this opening to the season. The first game could have been straight from the desk of Omar Minaya. Santana gets his 6 or thereabouts, Green gets it to Putz and Rodriguez. All was right in the world of blue.
After a day for us Mets fans to contemplate our good fortune,we got to witness a game that was probably indicative of many games to come. The starter was good but not great, or not careful, and Pedro Feliciano was his old self; that is to say he gave up two more runs before handing it over to any competent reliever. And then the competent guys, Putz and K-Rod again, were either tired or just unlucky and ran into lots of adventures before the game mercifully ended.
Luckily for the Metsies, they got some tremendous production on the other side of things, especially from the two Carloses. Nine runs is awfully hard for any team to overcome and certainly the Reds were not equal to the task last night. But they put a real scare into K-Rod. In fact, I thought he was giving us his best Aaron Heilmann impression. He looked as if he was afraid to put the ball anywhere near the plate.
Yeah, all you have to be is a little off, and a little unlucky, and you can easily lose. The first base umpire made a bad call, or a homey call I tend to think, ruling that Delgado had left the bag too early, before he had the ball, before pegging a throw over to third to try to nail Cinci’s new star Brandon Phillips. Replays showed the umpire was dead wrong and my letter to the Commissioner is on its way.
So, in lieu (does anybody say instead anymore) of two outs and a man on third with the score 9-7, it became one out and a man on first and third. Big difference! Especially for a K-Rod who was struggling to say the least. He went 2-0 on half the Cinci lineup, seemingly following the John Franco school of avoiding the plate at all costs, hoping the batter either swings or the umpire gives him the ol’ 6-inches off the plate strike.
K-Rod got neither the wild swings from the batters nor the corner calls.. Soon the bases were loaded. But K-Rod showed his toughness and smarts by striking out Gonzalez on a high hard one and then getting a little lucky when Nix blasted a pitch to the deepest part of centerfield.
So the Mets can win even when their starter doesn’t pitch well. And even when their relievers don’t knock anyone’s socks off, and that was definitely the case last night. And even when the horrible umpires in MLB do their best thing, which is to miss obvious calls.
And that will be important because the Mets starters just aren’t that good, despite some things I’ve heard to the contrary. For example, I’ve heard that Pelfrey could be a number 2 starter anywhere. That’s baloney. A number 3 or 4 starter maybe but not a legitimate 2. He may be the best of the rest though.
Just how bad are the rest? Given a choice of pitchers on a particular day, of the three, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Livan Hernandez, I’d pitch Livan. I have very little confidence in Maine, he’s with his head in the clouds all the time and Perez is just crazy, especially after the fourth or fifth inning. I’d gladly select Ollie to pitch a playoff game but not those regular season yawners, yawners to him anyway.
The bats won’t always be as prolific and the pitchers won’t always be good, but given last night’s game as an example, opponents will still have to either score a lot of runs or get by those last two stalwarts, Putz and K-Rod. And that won’t be too easy.
Yankee fans are dying right now, of course, what with CC’s inauspicious opener and Wang’s bashing last night. You can almost bet that A.J. Burnet will have trouble too, if not for the season, at least for Game 3. There’s a lot of pressure pitching for New York and none of these fellows will find it terribly easy to finally get comfortable.
As I’ve said before, Sabathia starts slowly and if the papers (I hate media, don’t you) beat him up in April, there may not be much of CC left for May through September, even as big as he is. And if he should have an extended bad period, which he has had before, it’s all over but the shoutin’.
Texeira’s done nothing yet either, and Colby Rasmus is not the stuff that dreams are made of. And I don’t like their batting order either.
Jeter is not a leadoff hitter. He’s not fast enough. He’s no real threat on the bases. Damon isn’t The Flash reincarnated either but he can lead off. Jeter should bat 2nd. He’s got that good bat control and he’s smart and unselfish. The 3-4-5 of Teixeira, Matsui and Posada is the best the Yankees can send up there right now, but it certainly isn’t an awe-inspiring middle. For example, I’d prefer any combination of Wright, Beltran and Delgado.
Then there’s the 6 spot though the 9 spot. Cano’s at 6 but he should probably move up in the order, Nady’s been at the 7 spot but he’s a bigger threat to me than Posada at 5, in the long run anyway. Then there’s Ransom and Gardner at 8 and 9 and I’d certainly have to agree with that for now.
But, until Arod returns, I’d like to see Gardner, Jeter, Damon, Teixeira, Matsui, Nady, Posada, and either Cano and Ransom or the other way around depending on who has less speed. Arod’s return will not only solidify the center of the lineup but tend to extend the strength through the order.
And how ‘bout some relief?
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
Mets All The Way
How unprecedented was this? Two new stadiums opened, and the Mets opened the nicer one against the Red Sox?
David Wright says it’ll be a lot of fun for all of us. He also talked about having it be a pitcher’s park with big gaps to suit his Mets team, which shows that he’s already thinking about how far they’ll go. And that’s a good thing.
Sports Illustrated says the Mets are going to win the whole thing. But Mets manager Jerry Manuel dismisses that notion. He knows his team has to learn to perform down the stretch, to hit in big situations, to hit to the opposite field, to make contact more often, and all those other things they haven’t done in the last couple of years.
The Mets are picking up Gary Sheffield. I understand they got him to replace Marlon Anderson as a utility guy and pinch hitter.. Let me try to look at the bright side of this. Sheffield can hit, some people say he’s a good team player, and in the last couple of years, he’s been hurt more than he’s played. So I won’t have to look at that dour countenance every day. And I don’t agree with Omar that Sheffield has that much upside, not anymore.
What this does is shut up all those fans who knocked Minaya for not picking up the big bat, especially a right-handed bat. That makes me think it was just a political move, something to ingratiate himself with the fans and with the critics. It’s still not clear as to how this will affect Murphy’s time, and Tatis’s time, both of whom are infinitely superior to Sheffield in my mind.
In any event, Sheffield’s negative affects won’t be enough to derail the Mets run to the NL East division title. They fixed the bullpen, they have just enough starting pitching (although we may see some really uneven performances from Perez, Maine and even Pelfrey). The lineup is our same happy Metsies but with an invigorated Castillo, a steady diet of Murphy and Evans and Tatis, and enough depth to outlast any conceivable injuries.
Everybody wants predictions. It seems it’s the the thing to do. So, let me give you my drift on the season…..
NL East – Mets, Florida, Phillies, Atlanta, Washington
The Phillies just can’t get it done again with that starting staff. Myers and Hamels and pray for rain. Florida will amaze with an extra year of maturity for all their young guys and some very decent pitching. Besides Nolasco and Johnson, they’ve got a young’n named Chris Volstad and there’s Anibal Sanchez too. Atlanta and Washington…ho-hum…. .
NL Central – Cubs, Cards, Reds, Brewers, Astros, Pirates
The Cubs are loaded for bear. Everywhere you look, there is strength. The starters should be amazing, five good ones, Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Harden and Marshall. The bullpen sports Gregg and Marmol. The lineup is outstanding with steadiness all around. The Cards look strong too but too many holes still. The Reds and Brewers will be competitive, the Astros are old and sick, and then there’s the Pirates.
NL West – Arizona, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres
I hate to agree with my brother but he’s right. He asked, “Can you name one Dodgers starting pitcher”? I was able to name exactly one. The Diamondbacks look awesome in comparison. And if the Dodgers don’t win it, why should they even take second? The Giants will surprise with Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Randy Johnson and young Jonathan Sanchez at the helm and enough relief in Wilson, Affeldt and company to make up for any holes in their lineup.
NL Wildcard – The Marlins steal it from the Giants on the last day of the season.
AL East – Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Jays and Orioles
The Rays luck with their healthy starting pitching can’t be expected to continue. The Yankees will have trouble getting the ball to Rivera with the lead. The Red Sox just seem to have everything. The starters match up well with anyone, including the Yankees. They have way better relief and a lineup that doesn’t miss Manny all that much. Unless Vernon Wells has the season of a lifetime, the Jays have no shot and then there’s the Orioles, improved but still looking up at the rest of this tough division.
AL Central – Indians, Twins, White Sox, Royals, Tigers
The toughest division to pick, any of these teams could win it but the Indians will have the best combination of pitching and hitting. Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Carl Pavano and Westbrook upon his return provide lots of innings and a strong relief corps featuring Kerry Wood, Betancourt and Perez to outclass the Twins, whose starters will still need another year of seasoning. Liriano, Slowey, Perkins and Blackburn for the Twins…just too much youth there. This will be a real crapshoot though and nobody’d be happier than I’d be if the Royals somehow prevail. Good pitching…Meche, Greinke, Horacio Ramirez, Joakim Soria and Farnsworth but a weak lineup keep them an also-ran.
AL West – Angels, Rangers, A’s, Mariners
The Angels lineup is really powerful with Guerrero all fixed up, fleet Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins and seasoned veterans and hitters in Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera will be too much for the rest of this division, even the Rangers, who’ll be handicapped by their uneven pitching. The A’s too will be much improved with their acquisitions of Holliday, Giambi and Cabrera but the talents of their unbelievably inexperienced starters will not outweigh their lack of seasoning. Just too much to ask. Seattle has a really nice pitching staff in Hernandez, Bedard, Silva and Washburn but Griffey and Beltre have had their day. It was yesterday.
AL Wildcard – Texas Rangers steal it from the Yankees on the season’s last day.
Playoffs – NL – Mets take it from the Cubs in seven.
Playoffs – AL – Red Sox take it from the Rangers in six.
World Series – Mets over Red Sox in 7 tough and memorable games. Beltran MVP.
David Wright says it’ll be a lot of fun for all of us. He also talked about having it be a pitcher’s park with big gaps to suit his Mets team, which shows that he’s already thinking about how far they’ll go. And that’s a good thing.
Sports Illustrated says the Mets are going to win the whole thing. But Mets manager Jerry Manuel dismisses that notion. He knows his team has to learn to perform down the stretch, to hit in big situations, to hit to the opposite field, to make contact more often, and all those other things they haven’t done in the last couple of years.
The Mets are picking up Gary Sheffield. I understand they got him to replace Marlon Anderson as a utility guy and pinch hitter.. Let me try to look at the bright side of this. Sheffield can hit, some people say he’s a good team player, and in the last couple of years, he’s been hurt more than he’s played. So I won’t have to look at that dour countenance every day. And I don’t agree with Omar that Sheffield has that much upside, not anymore.
What this does is shut up all those fans who knocked Minaya for not picking up the big bat, especially a right-handed bat. That makes me think it was just a political move, something to ingratiate himself with the fans and with the critics. It’s still not clear as to how this will affect Murphy’s time, and Tatis’s time, both of whom are infinitely superior to Sheffield in my mind.
In any event, Sheffield’s negative affects won’t be enough to derail the Mets run to the NL East division title. They fixed the bullpen, they have just enough starting pitching (although we may see some really uneven performances from Perez, Maine and even Pelfrey). The lineup is our same happy Metsies but with an invigorated Castillo, a steady diet of Murphy and Evans and Tatis, and enough depth to outlast any conceivable injuries.
Everybody wants predictions. It seems it’s the the thing to do. So, let me give you my drift on the season…..
NL East – Mets, Florida, Phillies, Atlanta, Washington
The Phillies just can’t get it done again with that starting staff. Myers and Hamels and pray for rain. Florida will amaze with an extra year of maturity for all their young guys and some very decent pitching. Besides Nolasco and Johnson, they’ve got a young’n named Chris Volstad and there’s Anibal Sanchez too. Atlanta and Washington…ho-hum…. .
NL Central – Cubs, Cards, Reds, Brewers, Astros, Pirates
The Cubs are loaded for bear. Everywhere you look, there is strength. The starters should be amazing, five good ones, Zambrano, Lilly, Dempster, Harden and Marshall. The bullpen sports Gregg and Marmol. The lineup is outstanding with steadiness all around. The Cards look strong too but too many holes still. The Reds and Brewers will be competitive, the Astros are old and sick, and then there’s the Pirates.
NL West – Arizona, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Padres
I hate to agree with my brother but he’s right. He asked, “Can you name one Dodgers starting pitcher”? I was able to name exactly one. The Diamondbacks look awesome in comparison. And if the Dodgers don’t win it, why should they even take second? The Giants will surprise with Lincecum, Zito, Cain, Randy Johnson and young Jonathan Sanchez at the helm and enough relief in Wilson, Affeldt and company to make up for any holes in their lineup.
NL Wildcard – The Marlins steal it from the Giants on the last day of the season.
AL East – Red Sox, Yankees, Rays, Jays and Orioles
The Rays luck with their healthy starting pitching can’t be expected to continue. The Yankees will have trouble getting the ball to Rivera with the lead. The Red Sox just seem to have everything. The starters match up well with anyone, including the Yankees. They have way better relief and a lineup that doesn’t miss Manny all that much. Unless Vernon Wells has the season of a lifetime, the Jays have no shot and then there’s the Orioles, improved but still looking up at the rest of this tough division.
AL Central – Indians, Twins, White Sox, Royals, Tigers
The toughest division to pick, any of these teams could win it but the Indians will have the best combination of pitching and hitting. Cliff Lee, Fausto Carmona, Carl Pavano and Westbrook upon his return provide lots of innings and a strong relief corps featuring Kerry Wood, Betancourt and Perez to outclass the Twins, whose starters will still need another year of seasoning. Liriano, Slowey, Perkins and Blackburn for the Twins…just too much youth there. This will be a real crapshoot though and nobody’d be happier than I’d be if the Royals somehow prevail. Good pitching…Meche, Greinke, Horacio Ramirez, Joakim Soria and Farnsworth but a weak lineup keep them an also-ran.
AL West – Angels, Rangers, A’s, Mariners
The Angels lineup is really powerful with Guerrero all fixed up, fleet Torii Hunter and Chone Figgins and seasoned veterans and hitters in Bobby Abreu and Juan Rivera will be too much for the rest of this division, even the Rangers, who’ll be handicapped by their uneven pitching. The A’s too will be much improved with their acquisitions of Holliday, Giambi and Cabrera but the talents of their unbelievably inexperienced starters will not outweigh their lack of seasoning. Just too much to ask. Seattle has a really nice pitching staff in Hernandez, Bedard, Silva and Washburn but Griffey and Beltre have had their day. It was yesterday.
AL Wildcard – Texas Rangers steal it from the Yankees on the season’s last day.
Playoffs – NL – Mets take it from the Cubs in seven.
Playoffs – AL – Red Sox take it from the Rangers in six.
World Series – Mets over Red Sox in 7 tough and memorable games. Beltran MVP.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April Fools
Gary Sheffield really outdid himself this time. It takes real talent to get a club to release you and still collect your 14 million dollars. But the Tigers did just that and you have to wonder why. That’s a lot of money to just fritter away.
Ya see? It’s not just Jerry Jones who pays players big money only to let them go. Now it’s the Tigers and Gary Sheffield.
As has been widely reported, Sheffield has 499 homers in his 21-year career and he no doubt looked forward to hitting 500. Did he possibly try to negotiate for more money based on the added value of hitting his 500th in a Tigers uniform? With Sheffield, anything’s possible and that may be the only explanation that makes sense.
Even if their primary motive was to publicly insult Sheffield, 14 mill is a lot to spend just to make a statement.
Are they all crazy in Detroit? Well, there’s Jim Leyland, of course, who never cared too much about normality. Detroit is the Motor City and the home of other colossal failures such as General Motors. And let’s give the Detroit Lions their due. They’ve stunk out the joint for about a decade, at least.
This is really very mysterious. You have the fact of the matter, a fait accompli. Then you have the Yankee fans who all seem to hate him. Then you hear former teammates publicly saying that he’s a good team guy. Judging from some of the quotes attributed to good ol’ Gary, those teammates probably never had a nice long talk with him.
It certainly is entertaining. My only interest in Gary Sheffield stems from his fantasy numbers which had usually been very good. He was hurt a lot the last couple of years and things probably weren’t going to get that much better. But still, 14 million bucks?
At least the Tigers didn’t get a stimulus package.
Nor did the Broncos for that matter. They’re trading Jay Cutler, one of the top young quarterbacks in the game. The new management apparently didn’t worry about their quarterback’s sense of pride or loyalty when they offered him to the Patriots for Matt Cassell.
Bronco fans never question anything but even they will have a problem swallowing this little pill. What they get in exchange will ultimately determine just how badly their management miscalculated. I’d expect the Broncos to demand an established arm in any trade to minimize their downside risk, in terms of both performance and perception.
That would leave the Jets out of the mix. Of all the teams I’ve seen as potential suitors, a move to the Cleveland Browns would make the most sense. They’ve got two established quarterbacks in Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Taking a chance on either one would almost certainly yield better results than a trade for an Orton from the Bears or a Jackson from the Vikings, for example.
It’d also be somewhat ironic, having a dumb move started by a former Pats assistant (Josh McDaniels) and competed by a former Pats assistant (Eric Mangini). Whatever their football skills, their capacity for diplomacy, almost certainly handed down from Belichick, certainly diminishes their overall value as coaches.
Belichick’s genius for defense covers up a lot of trouble on the diplomacy front. What do McDaniels or Mangini bring to the table? We New Yorkers know what Mangini brought. Process, process, process … blah blah blah, and what appeared to be a general malaise that affected the whole team.
There are several other surprising things in the sports pages these days but nothing else that could be called April Fools jokes. Plaxico visiting Giants training headquarters was pleasantly surprising to me, while newbie Yankee centerfielder Brett Gardner getting the start over Melky Cabrera (or anyone else they could have acquired) was less of a shock.
Yankee centerfielders…..let’s see, the earliest one I actually remember is Joe DiMaggio. Then there was Mickey Mantle. Those two fellas alone manned the position for over 30 years, and I have to grudgingly admit they were probably the best centerfielders in the game except for the say-hey kid, Willie Mays.
But there were some other good ones since 1968, Bobby Murcer, Bernie Williams and Ricky Henderson come quickly to mind, and I’m anything but a Yankee fan. So it seems slightly incongruous that a Brett Gardner would get the chance to play there.
But maybe it’s not so strange. Joe D and Mickey were home grown and so were Murcer and Bernie Williams. Nobody ever became great without an opportunity and maybe Gardner will put up some numbers, if not on the order of a Mickey or a Joe D, maybe at least those of a Mickey Rivers. Would you believe Roberto Kelly?
Gardner had an inauspicious start in 2008 but I’m willing to forget that. He is hitting .385 in the spring though, and that’s not too shabby. But that dwarfs his minor league batting averages over the last few years. He batted .296 in his last year in AAA though, and scored 68 runs in 94 games.
That projects to 117 runs scored over 162 games. Imagine how happy the Bombers would be with that! He’ll probably steal about fifty bases too. He’s not a home run hitter but he doesn’t have to be in that lineup. Even if we discount those minor league numbers to major league probables, he’d still score about 100 runs.
So it’s April 1st, and if we can’t have the start of the regular season as we have had in other non-Classic years, it’s nice to at least have something to think about. The Knicks and Nets certainly haven’t done anything lately to hold our interest.
So be happy with what we have. Crazy managers, crazier general managers, and hopefully a continuation of some long traditions. But nothing really compares to Sheffield’s situation. He could even wind up have the last laugh. If money means anything, he ‘s already had the first.
Ya see? It’s not just Jerry Jones who pays players big money only to let them go. Now it’s the Tigers and Gary Sheffield.
As has been widely reported, Sheffield has 499 homers in his 21-year career and he no doubt looked forward to hitting 500. Did he possibly try to negotiate for more money based on the added value of hitting his 500th in a Tigers uniform? With Sheffield, anything’s possible and that may be the only explanation that makes sense.
Even if their primary motive was to publicly insult Sheffield, 14 mill is a lot to spend just to make a statement.
Are they all crazy in Detroit? Well, there’s Jim Leyland, of course, who never cared too much about normality. Detroit is the Motor City and the home of other colossal failures such as General Motors. And let’s give the Detroit Lions their due. They’ve stunk out the joint for about a decade, at least.
This is really very mysterious. You have the fact of the matter, a fait accompli. Then you have the Yankee fans who all seem to hate him. Then you hear former teammates publicly saying that he’s a good team guy. Judging from some of the quotes attributed to good ol’ Gary, those teammates probably never had a nice long talk with him.
It certainly is entertaining. My only interest in Gary Sheffield stems from his fantasy numbers which had usually been very good. He was hurt a lot the last couple of years and things probably weren’t going to get that much better. But still, 14 million bucks?
At least the Tigers didn’t get a stimulus package.
Nor did the Broncos for that matter. They’re trading Jay Cutler, one of the top young quarterbacks in the game. The new management apparently didn’t worry about their quarterback’s sense of pride or loyalty when they offered him to the Patriots for Matt Cassell.
Bronco fans never question anything but even they will have a problem swallowing this little pill. What they get in exchange will ultimately determine just how badly their management miscalculated. I’d expect the Broncos to demand an established arm in any trade to minimize their downside risk, in terms of both performance and perception.
That would leave the Jets out of the mix. Of all the teams I’ve seen as potential suitors, a move to the Cleveland Browns would make the most sense. They’ve got two established quarterbacks in Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson. Taking a chance on either one would almost certainly yield better results than a trade for an Orton from the Bears or a Jackson from the Vikings, for example.
It’d also be somewhat ironic, having a dumb move started by a former Pats assistant (Josh McDaniels) and competed by a former Pats assistant (Eric Mangini). Whatever their football skills, their capacity for diplomacy, almost certainly handed down from Belichick, certainly diminishes their overall value as coaches.
Belichick’s genius for defense covers up a lot of trouble on the diplomacy front. What do McDaniels or Mangini bring to the table? We New Yorkers know what Mangini brought. Process, process, process … blah blah blah, and what appeared to be a general malaise that affected the whole team.
There are several other surprising things in the sports pages these days but nothing else that could be called April Fools jokes. Plaxico visiting Giants training headquarters was pleasantly surprising to me, while newbie Yankee centerfielder Brett Gardner getting the start over Melky Cabrera (or anyone else they could have acquired) was less of a shock.
Yankee centerfielders…..let’s see, the earliest one I actually remember is Joe DiMaggio. Then there was Mickey Mantle. Those two fellas alone manned the position for over 30 years, and I have to grudgingly admit they were probably the best centerfielders in the game except for the say-hey kid, Willie Mays.
But there were some other good ones since 1968, Bobby Murcer, Bernie Williams and Ricky Henderson come quickly to mind, and I’m anything but a Yankee fan. So it seems slightly incongruous that a Brett Gardner would get the chance to play there.
But maybe it’s not so strange. Joe D and Mickey were home grown and so were Murcer and Bernie Williams. Nobody ever became great without an opportunity and maybe Gardner will put up some numbers, if not on the order of a Mickey or a Joe D, maybe at least those of a Mickey Rivers. Would you believe Roberto Kelly?
Gardner had an inauspicious start in 2008 but I’m willing to forget that. He is hitting .385 in the spring though, and that’s not too shabby. But that dwarfs his minor league batting averages over the last few years. He batted .296 in his last year in AAA though, and scored 68 runs in 94 games.
That projects to 117 runs scored over 162 games. Imagine how happy the Bombers would be with that! He’ll probably steal about fifty bases too. He’s not a home run hitter but he doesn’t have to be in that lineup. Even if we discount those minor league numbers to major league probables, he’d still score about 100 runs.
So it’s April 1st, and if we can’t have the start of the regular season as we have had in other non-Classic years, it’s nice to at least have something to think about. The Knicks and Nets certainly haven’t done anything lately to hold our interest.
So be happy with what we have. Crazy managers, crazier general managers, and hopefully a continuation of some long traditions. But nothing really compares to Sheffield’s situation. He could even wind up have the last laugh. If money means anything, he ‘s already had the first.
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