Warthen Interview
Dan Warthen was interviewed on the air during the third inning of tonight’s game. Here’s some of the points he made.:
- Pedro Martinez arm strength is good. His stuff is good. We just have to keep pumping him up. He’s physically fine. It’s just “between his ears”.
- Some work on Aaron Heilman‘s mechanics have got him back on track.
- They’ve been working with Oliver Perez to make his motion more compact/”old school”. Perez has also moved to the kiddle of the rubber. This was as much Perez’s idea as it was Warthen’s. Perez is more comfortable right now.
- Duaner Sanchez suffered some bruising after being hit by the line drive last night. There is no other damage.
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Video: Sanchez Hit By Line Drive
Here’s video of Duaner Sanchez getting hit by the line drive last night. It was really scary to watch. The ball came very close to hitting him on the kneecap and that may have ended his career. Sanchez said before tonight’s game that he’s healthy. I imagine Jerry Manuel will only use him if absolutely necessary.
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Manuel, Beltran Fined
Mets manager Jerry Manuel and outfielder Carlos Beltran were both fined for their roles in an altercation with umpire Brian Runge the other night. The amounts of the fines were undisclosed.
The incident began as Beltran questioned a called strike. During the conversation Runge started to clean home plate in what was a not so veiled attempt to confront Beltran. Manuel stepped in to complain that Runge baited Beltran. During this argument Runge bumped Manuel and Manuel was immediately tossed from the game as would be routine had Manuel been the one to do the bumping. You could clearly see Manuel shout at Runge “You bumped me!” right after that. After that Beltran’s argument escalated to the point where he was tossed too and Manuel actually had to come back out onto the field to protect his player from further discipline from the league.
Runge was suspended for his role in the altercation.
Watching the video you can see how bizarre this incident was. The way Runge went to clean the plate was so unnatural. You could tell that it was done just to see if how Beltran would react. This is a clear case of an umpire affecting the game instead of doing his job which is to call the game.
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Time To Do Something With Perez?
The Mets designated Claudio Vargas for assignment after last night disgraceful 11-0 loss to the lowly Seattle Mariners. Carlos Muniz was recalled to take his spot on the roster. I don’t think this move had much to do with his disappointing performance in last night’s game as Vargas had been pitching pretty well before that. Rather I think the Mets may finally be preparing to do something with the starting rotation.
Vargas has been primarily a starter throughout his career so it would make sense to me to send him to AAA New Orleans to make a few starts and then add him in the rotation somewhere. Maybe move Oliver Perez to the pen. Perez is a guy that everyone was hot on after his 15 wins last season. Apparently everyone has forgotten his history. The 16 wins wasn’t a positive turning point. It was an indicator to trade him before he returned to his normal, inconsistent self.
It’s time to make a move with Perez. Move him to the pen, send him to the minors for a while (like they did with Steve Trachsel several years ago) or even, dare I say, release him. He’s a prime example of a guy who is in the league based on 2 things: potential and the fact he’s a lefty. My answers to those reasons are that the potential has been mostly unrealized and that my wife is a lefty too.
I wish this wasn’t the case because I like his potential too. When he’s got it he’s really got it. But there’s a time when potential isn’t enough and you need to put up the numbers. And going into free agency this offseason you’d figure he wouldn’t need any additional motivation.
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Mills on Randolph Firing
In a post on Mike’s Mets yesterday Dave Mills dissects the Willie Randolph firing. Dave comes to the same conclusion as me. It was the right move handled in the wrong way. Read the post to see all the parties Dave blames.
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Manuel: Mets Fans Are Fertilizer
Before yesterday’s game Jerry Manuel made a comment likening Mets fans to fertilizer. I was going to write a nice post about this but then saw this one by Matthew Cerrone on Metsblog. It says exactly the same thing that I was going to say. So check it out.
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Valentin Done For The Year
Over the weekend it was announced that second baseman Jose Valentin will be taking the rest of the year off. Valentin had been rehabbing from various injuries at AAA New Orleans. After an injury riddled season last year the Mets re-signed Valentin to a one year deal in the hopes that he would retire as opposed to playing out the string. It was there way of telling him to retire without actually kicking him to the curb. It looks like it will be one of the few moves from the past year that will actually work out as planned.
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Links
- John Harper had a good column about embattled Mets assistant general manager Tony Bernazard in yesterday’s New York Daily News.
- Harper also writes about Jerry Manuel changing things for the better.
- At Mets.com Anthony DiComo writes about Manuel’s move to define rules for his bullpen.
- At NY Sports Day Joe McDonald compares the Willie Randolph/Jerry Manuel transition to the Davey Johnson/Bud Harrelson transition. Click here to read it.
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Video: Noble & Everett on Mets Managerial Change
Videos courtesy of MLB.com:
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Video: Highlights From Last Night’s Game
Here are some videos from last night’s game courtesy of MLB.com:
- Carlos Delgado‘s home run in the fourth inning
- David Wright‘s single ties the game in the 9th
- Damion Easley‘s homer wins it in the 10th
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