Last updated: 07/02/2009 - 5:15 AM PDT
Make A Trade, Omar
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“Let’s not get too excited about Fernando Nieve yet. He’s having a great run and should stay in rotation for now but he’s not a superstar.” – MostlyMets via Twitter
The quote above proved prophetic as after posting a 3-0 record with a 1.45 ERA in 18.2 innings (10 hits, 11 Ks, 9 BBs) in his first three starts Nieve allowed 11 hits and 3 runs in just 3.1 innings. It was bound to happen eventually.
But let’s not blame the whole game on Nieve. Good teams are supposed to overcome bad outings by their starting pitchers more often than not. This is just not a good team in it’s current state. The three core players that are currently on the disabled list (Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado & Jose Reyes) each have no clear timetable for returning and without them this team is sunk.
It’s not going out on a limb to say this team needs a trade to inject some life into the team. I agree with Omar Minaya’s idea of not overpaying for a player but disagree with his justification for not acquiring a marquee player. I heard him tell Mike Francessa on WFAN last week that he wouldn’t acquire a big name player because he still needs to play the injured guys when they return. One of the problems with that philosophy is that if you don’t get trade for the big name guy then you won’t be in contention when the injured player returns.
Say what you will about Steve Phillips but he had the right idea on this issue in 1998. You may recall that Todd Hundley, fresh off of two all star seasons in which he hit 41 and 30 home runs respectively, suffered an elbow injury. what did Phillips do? He traded prospects Preston Wilson, Ed Yarnall and Geoff Goetz to the Florida Marlins for Mike Piazza. Piazza, already established as a star, went on to be arguably the best catcher in Mets history and led the team to a World Series appearance in 2000. Hundley played some left field for the Mets after returning from his injury but after the season was traded for Armando Benitez and Roger Cedeno, two other players who played integral roles for the 2000 Mets.
The lesson learned is that you need to do what you have to do to survive now. In Phillips case that was to acquire Piazza. And even though that was not enough to help the Mets that year (they finished 18 games behind the Braves that year) it ended up paying dividends later. I’m not saying that the Minaya should haphazardly trade away everything to fill a position of an injured player. But if the right player becomes available he should pursue and not worry about doubling up on a position. Jerry Manuel will worry about that later… if the team is still in contention.
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Lost Weekend
I spent most of the weekend with a family commitment and attended a wedding last night. (Funny that the wedding hall had a view of CitiField.) All this kept me from experiencing anything Mets through this weekends subway series at CitiField until late last night. I started watching last night’s game just in time to see Francisco Rodriguez walk Mariano Rivera with the bases loaded. And while catching up on things this morning it seems like this was the right weekend for me to be away from the Mets. Now I can go on with my life as if nothing happened because for me it didn’t.
Just one note about last night: Congratulations wot Rivera on his 500th save.
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Today’s Lineup vs. Cardinals 6/25/2009
| # | Name | Position | ||||
| 3 | Alex Cora | SS | ||||
| 1 | Luis Castillo | 2B | ||||
| 5 | David Wright | 3B | ||||
| 19 | Ryan Church | RF | ||||
| 17 | Fernando Tatis | LF | ||||
| 26 | Fernando Martinez | CF | ||||
| 6 | Nick Evans | 1B | ||||
| 9 | Omir Santos | C | ||||
| 57 | Johan Santana | P | ||||
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This Is How To Swing A Bat
An interesting approach to swinging a bat demostrated by AAA outfielder Josh Womack at Long Beach Armada 2009 Training Camp.
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Gary Sheffield: To DL or Not To DL?
Gary Sheffield is out for tonight’s lineup. This will be the third game in a row. Though manager Jerry Manuel says he’s trying to keep Sheffield fresh it seems obvious that his knee is bothering him. The questions remains is it worth it to keep him on the roster in the hopes he’ll get better soon or should he go on the DL?
I’m rally tossed up about this one. I usually think Omar Minaya waits too long before putting players on the DL, hampering his manager’s ability to guide the team to a win. But in this case the team already has 9 players on the DL and not a lot of help in the minors to bring up in Sheffield’s place, especially wit the recent release of Bobby Kielty and Wily Mo Pena from minor league contracts. The only option I can think of is Emil Brown. If Brown is the only option then what have they got to lose by waiting and seeing if a few days off does Sheffield some good?
What do you think? Should the Mets put Sheffield on the DL? Answer the poll in the sidebar to the right.
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11 Players Moved By Mets Yesterday
The Mets had a busy and curious day yesterday as far as transactions go. Here’s a list of what they did yesterday:
- Recalled Fernando Martinez from AAA Buffalo
- Sent John Maine to minors for a rehab assignment
- Designated Connor Robertson for assignment
- Released Bobby Kielty
- Designated Wilson Valdez for assignment
- Released Wily Mo Pena
- Released Javier Valentin
- Sent Ken Takahashi to Buffalo
- Placed Carlos Beltran on the 15 day disabled List (Bone bruise, right knee)
- Recalled Pat Misch from Buffalo
- Purchased Elmer Dessens from Buffalo
The move of Martinez to replace the injured Beltran makes total sense so I won’t comment any further on that. Likewise Maine’s rehab assignment.
The designation of Robertson is no big deal since he wasn’t going to be of much help to the team on the major league level anyway. Likewise the release of Valentin. And the demotion of Takahashi can be explained by the lack of confidence manager Jerry Manuel has in him right now.
The designation of Valdez is curious since the team is thin on middle infielders right now with Alex Cora forced to play every day and the return of Jose Reyes nowhere in sight.
Pena’s release is also puzzling. He wasn’t really costing the team anything but could be useful down the road. The rumor that he requested his release after being leap frogged by Nick Evans for a promotion last week, if true, would explain this move.
I can’t help but think that some of these moves were done to accommodate an upcoming transaction. Could there be a trade in the Mets not too distant future?
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Cora’s Great Play
In the 7th inning of last night’s game Mets shortstop Alex Cora made a tremendous play diving toward the outfield grass on his third base side and flipping the ball to second base backhanded from his knees while facing left field to complete a force play at second. Click here to watch the video.
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Delgado’s Absence A Big Issue
There still appears to be no timetable for the return of first baseman Carlos Delgado, out since May 10 with a hip injury. Delgado appeared in 26 games this season before being placed on the disabled list and though he had only 4 home runs he was the Mets only legitimate power threat. Delgado’s line for the year so far: 94 AB, 15 R, 28 H, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 12 BB, 20 K. Over 162 games this projects to the following: 586 AB, 93 R, 175 H, 25 HR, 143 RBI, 75 BB, 124 K.
Since Delgado’s been out the Mets have been going with Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy at first base with a little bit of Jeremy Reed too. Their combined line while playing first base (all three have pinch hit and played other positions since Delgado went down) over 33 games has been: 119 AB, 9 R, 24 H, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 15 BB, 16 K. Over 162 games this projects to the following: 584 AB, 44 R, 118 H, 10 HR, 79 RBI, 74 BB, 79 K.
Looking at these numbers you can see why it is so important for the Mets to acquire someone (whether it’s at first base or corner outfield) that can replace this production. When Delgado went down the Mets lost 49 R, 57 RBI & 15 HR. That’s not easy production to replace. Even if you throw away the home runs and settle for a small ball player you still need to replace the runs and RBIs and you won’t do that from within the organization.
It didn’t take a genius to see how thin the Mets were in terms of the makeup of the lineup and possible injury replacements during the offseason. That’s part of the reason why fans were clamoring for Manny Ramirez. (Ramirez being the best player available in free agency was a major factor also. It remains to be seen if he will maintain that stature after his return from his PED suspension but that’s a different discussion.) When the Mets said they weren’t interested in Ramirez the buzz went away even though there were still top flight bats still available.
The one that sticks out in my mind is Adam Dunn since he seemed to be such a good fit. Corner outfield was the Mets biggest issue last year. And even with a healthy Ryan Church it didn’t take a genius to see this would be a problem again this year. Dunn would also provide some middle of the lineup insurance in case a big guy went down (like delgado). Dunn ended up signing a 2 year, $20 million deal with the Washington Nationals. That’s a contract that the Mets could have easily afforded.
But my point is not so much to second guess a non-signing. It’s to state the importance of a need in the lineup. The Mets don’t necessarily need to acquire Dunn but they need to do something (a smart move and not a trade just for trades sake) because when Church is your #5 hitter (as he is tonight) something is seriously wrong.
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Strawberry on RootZooTV
Here’s a recent interview of Darryl Strawberry from RootZooTV:
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Bruney’s Comment Out Of Line
“He’s got a tired act. I think that’s bad, but two years ago, when he lost the game… I don’t know if anybody saw it, I did. He was in Oakland and he was pitching for Anaheim, didn’t get a call, and so he was like complaining…The catcher threw it back and he just kind of did one of these, and hit off his glove and bounced behind and the guy from third scored and they won the game. He gets what he deserves, man. I just don’t like watching the guy pitch. I think it’s embarrassing.”
—Yankees reliever Brian Bruney, on his disgust with the antics of Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez.
I don’t mind when players questions other players behavior. If I do it myself then why can’t they? What bothers me is when a player that is just a marginal reliever who would be forgotten quite quickly if he never played again questions one of the top relievers in the game today.
Bruney is in his second DL stint this season and has only played in 10 games (9 IP). He’s got a 4.28 ERA and 13 save, 8 blown saves and 33 holds since debuting in 2004. In the same span Rodriguez has 222 saves, 30 blown saves and 27 holds. Even if you’re like me and you believe that the hold is the save of the middle reliever you still can’t say that Bruney has come anywhere close to the accomplishments of Rodriguez. He’s just a frustrated middle reliever who’s bitter because he’s never been able to hold down the closers position for his teams.
I’m not saying that Bruney can’t be a valuable player. But he has never been and never will be a marquee player.
Bruney can say whatever he wants to say about Rodriguez or any other player. That’s his right under the first amendment. As fans we have to take it from where it’s coming from. A nobody making bitter comments about a somebody.
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