Matsui a Goner?
I read this morning that when Xavier Nady comes off the DL (he’s eligible next Tuesday) the Mets may release Kazuo Matsui unless they can trade him first. The move makes sense as the team has Jose Valentin starting at second base right now with Chris Woodward ready to back him up and Anderson Hernandez at Norfolk if needed and Lastings Milledge, who replaced Nady on the active roster, has played very well.
The Mets have investigated trades involving Matsui before but have always been held back by his salary. But now Ken Rosenthal at Foxsports.com reports that the Mets may have a surprise taker for Matsui.
Comments to this post
El Duque Lives!
I was talking to a friend a few couple of ago about the Mets acquisition of Orlando Hernandez. My friend was not happy with the trade. He thpought the Mets could do better. He insisted that El Duque was washed up and not worth it. My response was a threefold argument which was as follows:
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments to this post
Kurkjian on Switch Hitting
Tim Kurkjian has an article on ESPN.com about switch hitters. Former Met Carlos Baerga and current Met Jose Valentin are quoted.
Comments to this post
A Grim-sley Affair
The government has a new informant on drug use in baseball and his name is Jason Grimsley. In the wake of an interview with the FBI in which he named names the Arizona reliever asked for (and was granted) his release from the Diamondbacks. Most commentators are up in arms over this and Congress will have a field day with it but it’s not MLBs fault. As critical as I’ve been of the leagues response and policies over the use of performance enhancers by it’s players you need to keep in mind what has actually happened here.
Read the rest of this entry »
Comments to this post
Soler Registers First Win
Congratulations to Alay Soler on his first major league win last night as the Mets beat the Dodgers 4-1. In 7 innings pitched last night Soler surrendered six hits while striking out seven and walking one. Good work.
Comments to this post
Gooden Feels Rock Bottom
The New York Post‘s Brian Costello did a jailhouse interview with Dwight Gooden. You can read about it in today’s edition. Among other things Costello relates that Gooden feels like he’s hit rock bottom and hopes that the experience of being in jail will get him back on track. I hope so too, Doc.
Comments to this post
Nady DLed, Milledge Promoted
Xavier Nady had an emergency appendectomy today and has been placed on the DL. He will be replaced on the roster by Lastings Milledge. I expect that Milledge will be the regular right fielder while Nady is out and be returned to triple-A afterward. Unless, of course, he knocks the skin off the ball in which case Nady could find himself coming off the bench. Nady is expected to be out about 4 weeks. Milledge was batting .291 with four home runs, 19 RBI and eight stolen bases in 46 games at Norfolk.
When I originally posted this it was not confirmed. It has since been confirmed via a press release posted on the Mets website.
Comments to this post
Quote of the Day
“That’s one good thing about baseball. Whether you’re good or bad, you’ve got the next day to do the same thing over again.”
– Jerry Manuel, Mets first base coach
Comments to this post
Hamels Out, Lieber In
I’m just catching up with this mornings headlines and I see that Phillies rookie phenom Cole Hamels will skip his scheduled start against the Mets tonight. Former Yankee Jon Lieber will make the start in his place.
I’m a little mixed with my feelings on this issue. On the one hand Hamels has struck out 12 batters in 11.1 innings. That’s some good power that the Mets will not have to face. On the other hand I really wanted to see him pitch. I guess the positives outweigh the negatives here since Lieber has been has been hitable this year (66 hits allowed in 57.1 innings, 8 HR, 5.81 ERA).
Comments to this post
Will Soler Shine Tonight?
Cuban Alay Soler makes his major league debut for the Mets tonight. Soler defected and signed with the Mets 2 years ago but due to the immigration process didn’t pitch for the Mets until spring training this year. He’s made only a handful of starts in the minors and is making the jump from AA ball. Relatively few pitchers have taken such a short road to the majors so the quick move is a sure sign of desperation regarding the starting rotation. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if Soler fails. Could Mike Pelfrey be far behind?
Comments to this post
