Delcos: When Is It Enough Regarding Burgos
I was going to write a post about Ambiorix Burgos today following the investigation in his involvement in a hit and run accident that left 2 women dead. (Police say Burgos was driving the SUV that hit the women.) John Delcos beat me to it on his NY Mets Report blog with a post he calls What is enough when it comes to Burgos?. Delcos makes exactly the same point I would have in my post.
Comments to this post
Minaya’s Extension Finalized
As expected, the Mets announced a contract extension for general manager Omar Minaya. The deal goes through 2012 and has club options for 2013 and 2014. Minaya said that he’s in negotiations to bring Jerry Manuel back to manage the club. He also said that he expects to pick up Carlos Delgado‘s option for next year.
Comments to this post
Santana Has Surgery
The Mets are set to have a press conference today presumed to be an announcement of Omar Minaya’s contract extension (3 years at $6 million?). But I think the questions asked by the press will be more centered around Johan Santana than they will around Minaya.
It was surprisingly announced yesterday that Santana had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The tear is believed to be the result of wear and tear as opposed to any single event but it was apparently hurting him pretty bad when he made his final start of the season. He’s expected to have a full recovery in time for spring training. But any time your ace has surgery, no matter how minor, a red flag is raised and questions are going to be asked. Especially if you’re the Mets who have a recent history of downplaying injuries that end up being bigger than they let on.
Comments to this post
What a Shea-me
For the second straight year the Mets were eliminated on the last day of the season. It was a really sad way to say goodbye to Shea Stadium. Though you can’t say this years end was worse than last year’s it doesn’t make it any easier.
The same things killed them yesterday that killed them all year long. An offense that disappears late in games and a bullpen that can’t hold an opponent. So what’s to be done for next year?
The first thing that needs to be done is a bullpen overhaul. That’s not rocket science. Billy Wagner is probably out for the whole 2009 season and has likely pitched his last game for the Mets. Luis Ayala pitched well as the Mets closer late in the year but he’s not a long term solution. There are several other parts in the bullpen that need work as well.
The starting rotation needs some work as well. It’s quite possible (probable?) that Pedro Martinez has pitched his last game as a met. John Maine will be having surgery and is expected to be ready for the start of spring training but you never know what you’ll get from a pitcher returning from surgery. Oliver Perez is a free agent with a tough agent and a resume that boasts some very bug games this past season. So you’re only sure things for next year (as far as returning starters are concerned) are Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey. Look for the team to acquire another starter if for no other reason than to be sure they’ve got an arm when they need it.
As far as hitters go there are several holes as well. First and foremost is left field where Moises Alou was mostly unavailable all year. A big bat is needed to fill that spot. The Mets did a good job of filling that hole with several players this year but a solid everyday bat is needed. Second base is another area of concern. The Mets need a more dependable bat at that position where Luis Castillo and his balky knees still have 3 years left on a 4 year contract. The Mets will likely have to eat a large part of his contract in order to move him. Daniel Murphy, who was one of the left field fill ins, has been asked to work out at second base during the winter so the Mets may be leaning toward him as at least part of the second base solution.
The bench performed mostly well for a good part of the year but is made up of veteran reclamation projects and young rookies needed to fill emergency holes. This is not the teams most glaring hole but clearly some work is needed here too.
Comments to this post
Santana Comes Up Aces
The Mets stunk up Shea Stadium on Friday night and in the process essentially surrendered the division to the Phillies who ended up clinching the NL East yesterday. Then an amazing thing happened. With the season on the line Johan Santana, three days removed from a 125 pitch performance, approached manager Jerry Manuel and said “Give me the ball!”. Santana then pitched a complete game, 3 hit shutout against the Marlins to make today, the day of game 162 and the final game of the regular season, meaningful. This was the kind of game Santana was acquired for and he came up aces.
The Mets will send Oliver Perez to the mound on short rest to pitch for the season. A win clinches at least a tie for the wild card while a loss will cause the Mets to have to depend on a Milwaukee loss to tie. But we’re all hoping for the best case scenario of a Mets win and Milwaukee loss so the two teams won’t have to play a one game playoff tomorrow night at Shea.
Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Comments to this post
Shpigel: Tiebreakers Explained
Ben Shpigel of the New York Times has an excellent summary of the National League playoff tie breakers. Shpigel breaks down the four scenarios and tells us what happens when any of them comes to pass. Considering the weather reports I’m assuming he’s using the days Monday and Tuesday loosely.
Comments to this post
Still Kicking
The Mets managed to win last night and remain in the playoff hunt for the final weekend of the season. One thing is for certain – the NL East cannot be clinched tonight so the Mets are still in it until at least tomorrow. (The Phillies magic number is currently 3 so it will take at least 3 games played by the Phillies and Mets combined before the division is decided and more than that if the Phillies somehow have trouble beating the Nationals.)
The wild card may not be decided until after the weekend. The Mets are currently tied with Milwaukee for the wild card lead with 3 games remaining. I’d give the Mets the advantage in this race as they play the Marlins this weekend and the Brewers play their division rival Cubs. But there is a distinct possibility this could come down to a play-in game on Monday. And with bad weather predicted for the north east this weekend the play-in game may not be played until Tuesday or Wednesday.
Hang on to your seats. It’s going to be a wild weekend.
Comments to this post
It’s A 9 Inning Game
The Mets thought they had the game won when Carlos Delgado hit a grand slam in the third inning. Apparently they hadn’t gotten the memo that the game is 9 innings long. Oliver Perez allowed 4 runs in the 5th inning to allow the Cubs back into the game that was eventually lost 9-6 in 10 innings. Perez wasn’t the only problem. The Mets squandered several chances to score more runs by leaving 10 men on base including stranding Daniel Murphy on third base after a lead off triple in the 9th.
This has been a problem all season long. The Mets are 25th in the league in batting with runners in scoring position (.254) and runners in scoring position with 2 outs (.222). They have failed to pick up their runners all year long and are simply not a clutch hitting team. This does not bode well as they are now tied for the wild card (1.5 games behind the Phillies for the division) with only 4 games left. A team that hits like this does not deserve to make the playoffs.
Comments to this post
Minaya Extended?
Rumor has it that the Mets will give general manager Omar Minaya a four year contract extension. I’m tossed up about this move. On the one hand the Mets are a much better team than they were when Minaya took over. But, though you can’t directly blame him for last years collapse or this years mediocre play down the stretch, you can blame him for putting together a bullpen that simulates a sieve. I liked the 2006 bullpen. I understand that players must change but it seemed like a pretty good bullpen was ripped apart with wholesale changes that made it a pretty bad bullpen in 2007. Then he failed to make any significant improvements to that bullpen to make it any better in 2008. In fact, it’s even worse now.
Overall I think he’s done a job worthy of a contract extension. But four years may be too long. I mean you’re talking about the guy who signed Luis Castillo despite the fact that he was about to have dangerous knee surgery last offseason. Minaya should be rewarded for making the Mets a contender but that reward should be tempered by his failures.
Comments to this post
Santana + 8 + 10 + 125 = Win
This was the equation the Mets had in mind when they acquired Johan Santana in the offseason. On the brink of the playoffs where every game is a must win the team needed a starter to give them strong innings. Santana provided 8 strong innings (striking out 10) last night while throwing a career high 125 pitches en route to 6-2 victory of the Cubs on a night where division rival Philadelphia lost. Santana is ojn rotation to pitch on Sunday should the game have any importance.
Comments to this post
