Francoeur: Poor David Wright
Jeff Francoeur‘s been quoted in several news outlets as saying that he feels bad for right handed hitters in general and David Wright specifically who have to play at CitiField. The main target of his derision, not surprisingly, is the deep right center field wall and tall wall along left field.
“I’m not saying to make a bandbox like Philadelphia. But, I mean, poor David hits the ball to right-center so well. And there it’s an out or it’s deep, and to me, that’s when you start trying to pull the ball. You start getting in habits. And I know it’s been frustrating for David playing in that park.”
“You hit some balls to right-center and it’s an out or it’s off the wall [and] it’s pretty devastating to a player. It is. Especially when you turn on ESPN at night and you see someone flipping one [at Yankee Stadium] 320 [feet] in the first row and it’s a home run. It’s tough man, it really is.”
Though it shouldn’t be coming from Francoeur I think the remarks are dead on. CitiField is definitely a pitchers park. There have been many articles backing this up since the park opened. This was by design.
At the same time you have to wonder what ownership was thinking when they configured the field to the detriment of their franchise hitters. Changing the field dimensions wouldn’t necesarily change the outcome of the games played there but would definitely help the team’s big hitters like Wright and Jason Bay. Want a good way to sell more tickets? Give your power hiters a better chance to hit the ball in your home park.
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The Story Thus Far
We’re 31 games into the season and I’ve barely posted at all so far. So let’s take a moment to catch up.
- The Mets are 16-20 and in last place in the NL East.
- There are 5 players on the disabled list including staff ace Johan Santana. (Santana’s place on the DL was expected.) One of the other players on the DL, Chris Young, may be out for the season with a torn anterior capsule in his throwing shoulder.
- In addition to the players on the DL first baseman Ike Davis hurt his leg last night. Davis is said to have suffered a left calf strain after colliding with third baseman David Wright while both were attempting to make a play on a popup in front of the mound. Davis will be re-evaluated today before his status is determined.
- Wright is playing with a sore lower back. (He’s scheduled to get the day off today.)
- After a brief (and, in my opinion, extremely misguided) attempt at installing Brad Emaus at second base it appears that Daniel Murphy has emerged as the regular at that position. Murphy should probably have been the starter all along.
- On the plus side, the Mets parted ways with both Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo during spring training. These moves surprised many since both players are owed money under the terms of their contracts that the Mets will be responsible for (even if another team signs them) but thrilled many Mets fans as it showed courage by the new front office and demostrated a major step toward moving on and rebuilding the team.
That’s pretty much the high level review. Did I miss anything?
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Baldwin vs. Krasinski
New Era did a great job on this commercial.
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KRods Option Will Kick In, Get Over It
Last night manager Terry Collins used Francisco Rodriguez in the 8th inning of a loss to the Phillies. The second guessing began almost immediately. Why use your closer in a non-save situation? Why waste an appearance that could have contractual ramifications? (KRod has a $17.5 million option that kicks in if he makes 55 appearances.)
The answer is simple. Those things don’t matter. Yes, he’s one of the best closers in the game and should be used in as many save opportunities as possible. Collins should use him in as few non-save situations as he can. But he’s human too. He needs to work in competitive game situations to keep himself sharp.
For those concerned about the 55 appearance contract option kicking in you’ll have to get used to the idea that it will likely happen. KRod has surpassed that mark in every full season he’s been in the majors except for last year which was cut short by injury and stupidity. including last year he’s averaged 66 appearances a year. So don’t think for even a minute that last night’s appearance will be the one that puts KRod over the top for his option.
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Too Early For Pelfrey Trade Talk
Mike Pelfrey has had a less than stellar start to the 2011 season. In his first two starts he’s pitched 6.1 innings allowing 12 hits, 11 earned runs and 5 walks while striking out only 3 batters. His ERA is 15.63.
Before the season started many said that in the likely event that the Mets are not in contention Pelfrey would be a trade candidate. This makes perfect sense. He’s in his 5th season with the Mets (not counting 4 late season appearances in 2006) and has shown flashes over that period. A team that’s in contention could do a lot worse than Big Pelf.
For some reason I’ve seen an uptick in headlines and Twitter messages calling for the Mets to trade Pelfrey since opening day. It appears that many are of the opinion that he should be traded sooner rather than later.
This makes no sense at all to me. For one thing you never trade a guy based on just 2 starts. And why would you trade one of you best bargaining chips while he’s slumping?
The season is still very young. Give the guy some time. He’ll put together some good outings that will up his stock heading toward the trade deadline. When we get toward the end of June we can start talking about a trade if the Mets are not contending. But right now it’s too early.
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Tonight’s Lineup Vs. Philadelphia (4/5/2011)
Here’s the lineup for tonight’s matchup against the Phillies:
| 7 | Jose Reyes | SS | ||||
| 16 | Angel Pagan | CF | ||||
| 5 | David Wright | 3B | ||||
| 15 | Carlos Beltran | RF | ||||
| 12 | Scott Hairston | LF | ||||
| 29 | Ike Davis | 1B | ||||
| 4 | Brad Emaus | 2B | ||||
| 13 | Mike Nickeas | C | ||||
| 55 | Chris Young | P | ||||
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Sandy Alderson Presents The Omar Minaya Mets
It’s beginning to feel a little like the Omar Minaya Mets again with the stories and denials about Johan Santana‘s stalled rehab. There was a report this weekend that attributed an unspecified person in the Mets organization saying the Mets may shut Santana down. Then Santana himself denied it. This coming less than a week after Carlos Beltran was diagnosed with tendinitis in his non-surgical knee. I know it’s not Sandy Alderson’s fault but it’s getting very hard te keep believing things will be different this year.
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Ollie Going To The Bullpen
It’s official. Oliver Perez is out of the starting rotation and is now competing for a bullpen spot. Manager Terry Collins confirmed it after today’s game.
I’m not sure Ollie can do the bullpen. As a starter his whole career who has been resistant to the bullpen (he accepted it last year only because it was that or the minors) his mindset isn’t right for the job. I don’t think he’ll be able to loosen up quick enough to get into a game if there’s trouble they want to call him in for.
I think this move is just a way for the Mets to say they’ve tried everything he’s willing to do before dumping him.
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Time To Say Goodbye To Ollie?
Oliver Perez started today and had a decent outing… after giving up 3 runs without an out to start the game. There’s talk that this could be his last start as a Met.
The rumor is that he’ll be asked to take a spot in the bullpen as a “situational” lefty. But when asked by the media about being a reliever Perez said ” All my career I am a starter and I’m a starter now.” Sounds a lot like the selfish, non-team player who refused to go to the minors last year to try to clean up his game.
Manager Terry Collins will meet with pitching coach Dan Warthen and general manager Sandy Alderson to figure out what the next step with perez should be. There was a time not too long ago where I would have opined he should be given every chance possible. But the bad performances backed by the attitude he seems to have (he seems to think “I shouldn’t have to prove I’m a major leaguer”) has me thinking it’s time to say good riddance to this joke.
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The Minaya Era Taught Me To Be Concerned For Beltran
After sitting out yesterday’s game due to a sore knee Carlos Beltran was expected to play in an exhibition game today. This morning that plan was changed and it was announced that Beltran would play in a simulated game instead. Still later manager Terry Collins said that Beltran will not play at all today. Still later general manager Sandy Alderson said Beltran will be shut down 4-5 days due to tendinitis in his left knee.
Because of Beltran’s right knee surgery last fall I have to wonder if this actually has anything to do with the right knee. While it’s better for Beltran to take things slow now (better to sit a few days now than a few weeks later) one can’t help but wonder what is really happening and if there is something the team isn’t telling us about Beltran’s condition. Yesterday I said this situation bears watching but now it bears concern.
I’ve said before that I’m a cynical optimist. While the optimist in me is saying that Beltran will be fine in a couple of days the cynic, trained by several years of Omar Minaya’s much maligned conditioning/medical staff, is saying he should have an MRI on both knees just to be sure they are structurally sound. If he’s going to sit for a few days then why not? He’s got the time.
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