Monthly Archives: May 2004
The News…
- Marlins concluded a three-game sweep of the Mets yesterday, handing New York its fourth straight loss and dropping the Amazins to three games under .500 and 6.5 games out of first. The Marlins, on the other hand, have the best record in the National League at 30-20.
- The Mets return home today to begin a three game series with the second place Philadelphia Phillies, followed by another series against the red-hot, division leading Marlins.
- Jason Phillips homered twice for the Mets, the first multihomer game of his career. “It doesn’t matter what you do offensively if you’re losing,” Phillips told reporters. “It’s a tough loss for us.”
- Two errors – a poor throw by Kaz Matsui and a dropped pop up by Shane Spencer, who started in center for an injured Mike Cameron – led to four unearned Marlins runs.
- From the Effective Top of the Order department: The Marlins have outscored opponents 40-19 in first innings.
- Appearing on WFAN, the White Sox assistant GM declared emphatically that his team will not be trading Magglio Ordonez this season. Newsday, however, reports that Ordoñez rejected a five-year, $70-million bid offer from Chicago, which were the terms he originally asked for. It is widely assumed that Ordoñez will test the free agent market come the off-season.
- Ken Rosenthal of the Sporting News reports that the Mariners could be among the most active teams during the mid-season trade market. Rosenthal states that the M’s will not only accept deals for RHP Freddy Garcia, but also 2B Bret Boone, RHP Gil Meche and possibly even RHP Joel Piniero.
- Scott Erickson allowed five hits and struck out five in his first rehab start for the Palm Beach Cardinals.
The Notes…
- Armando Benitez has 20 saves and has retired the last 36 batters to face him.
- The Mets are 5-for-48 (.104) with the bases loaded this year, second worst in MLB.
- Jason Phillips has four home runs and is 15-for-52, a .288 average, when starting at catcher. When starting at 1B, however, Phillips has no home runs and is 15-for-88, a .188 average.
- Interestingly, Mike Piazza has eight home runs and is 34-for-100, a .340 average, when starting at catcher. When starting at 1B, Piazza has only two home runs and is 20-for-73, a .274 average.
Things to Know for This Afternoon’s Game…
- Matt Ginter gets the start for the Mets today. Ginter threw six shut out innings in Philadelphia last week.
- Both Cameron and Cliff Floyd, banged up after colliding in the outfield during Saturday’s game, vowed to start this afternoon’s affair.
- The Phillies have the best team ERA, 3.65, in the National League.
Metsblog.com’s Take…
Always Amazin…
While Metsblog agrees Ty Wigginton‘s random starts at 2B is a way to showcase his versatility, potentially indicating his involvement in a forthcoming trade, to feel the San Francisco Giants would even consider trading their ace, Jason Schmidt, and Edgardo Alfonzo for Wigginton and a Mets youthful starting pitcher, with all due respect to Always Amazin, is steeped in short-sightedness.
The Giants are currently 2.5 games out of first place, which is also the same number of games they trail the Wild Card leader, and have won 9 of their last 10.
It’s a solid trade in terms of player and financial values, considering each team’s long-term goals, but in the short-term, the one question left standing is: Why would a team, smack dab in the middle of an up-for-grabs pennant race, that is just beginning to get hot, trade its ace and third best hitter for developing talent at best.
Art Howe…
In a one-hour span last night, WFAN featured six listener phone-calls complaining about Art Howe’s in-game managerial tactics. If the team continues to bumble around, the Fire Art Howe calls, we fear, will become deafening.
Today, Mike Hale of the New York Post and Peter Abraham of the Journal News nit-pick Howe’s decision to leave in Mike Stanton to pitch to Mike Lowell.
The Post and Star Ledger also run similar articles claiming Mets players have begun scratching their heads over Howe’s moves as well.
Howe’s “final piece of mismanaging,” as Abraham put it, came in the Mets final at-bat, when he pinch hit Cliff Floyd against Armando Benitez. Floyd was 0-for-7 with three strikeouts against Benitez in his career. Floyd then struck out on three smoking fastballs.
“I sat for 3 1/2 hours and then I had to face a guy throwing 97,” Floyd told the Journal News. “You could have bet your house on that one.”
This is not a good sign.
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After reading today’s post, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most confident, how confident are you that the Mets will play “meaningful games” in September of 2004?
For more Mets coverage, check out
The News…
- Mets begin a three game series with Florida Marlins tonight at Pro Player Stadium.
- The Mets will face Dontrelle Willis, Carl Pavano and Jose Beckett. The three starters have a combined 3.95 ERA on the season.
- Tom Glavine takes the hill tonight with a 6-2 record and a 2.13 ERA. Opposing batters are hitting just .193 against the Cy-Young contender, good for fourth best in the National League.
- On May 28 of last year, the Marlins’ record was 25-29.
- The NY Post confirms that the Mets front office has talked briefly about switching Jose Reyes back to SS and Kaz Matsui to 2B for the 2005 season. Matsui has committed 10 errors, tying him with the White Sox’s Jose Valentin for most among MLB shortstops. Last season, Reyes made nine errors in his first 34 games at SS. He then finished the year with a 35-game errorless streak.
- Armando Benitez has 18 saves and a 25 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings streak.
- Mike Piazza is batting .312 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in his career at Pro Player Stadium.
Participate…
Metsblog.com is looking for a fan to take on Old Backstop in our next Metsblog Battles.
The topic will be as follows: Should the Mets switch Matsui to 2B and put Reyes back at SS this season, when Reyes eventually returns from the DL?
If you are interested in battling, email us at: updates@metsblog.comMetsblog.com’s Take…
It’s early, but Metsblog has given it plenty of thought and our conclusion is, at 23-23, 3.5 games out first, the Mets should look to acquire OF Steve Finely from the Diamondbacks and SP Darrel May from Kansas City.
Though it is fun to talk about, ignore the rumblings regarding the availability of OF Carlos Beltran and OF Freddy Garcia.
Ken Rosenthal, of the Sporting News, was correct in his remarks during Metsblog’s State of the Mets discussion when he said, “[The Mets] play in New York, for heaven’s sake, and need to act like it.” Stomaching the idea of trading away a player of 3B David Wright‘s ability, however, is difficult to swallow.
And if you think it hurts now, imagine how it will feel if/when Beltran leaves to go sign with the Yankees during the off-season and Wright is contending for Rookie of the Year in Kansas City.
The Mets are currently 3.5 games out of first. Simply adding a stable fifth starter, in May, and adding a great defensive, consistent hitting, experienced outfielder, in Finley, would be like tightening the screws on a loose hinge. The door will swing either way, but in this case, it’ll simply swing more effectively.###
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After reading today’s post, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most confident, how confident are you that the Mets will play “meaningful games” in September of 2004?
For more Mets coverage, check out
Each
day this week Metsblog will bring together Adam Rubin of the Daily
News, Peter Abraham of the Journal Record, Ken Rosenthal of the
Sporting News, Ed Tsunoda from NYFanSites.com, Bryan Hoch managing
editor of Mets Inside Pitch, Jason Mastaitis from the Star-Ledger’s
Always Amazin weblog, and Mike Marino, our resident fan, to discuss the
current State of the Mets.
A
similar panel will reconvene to discuss a new crop of topics at the
All-Star Break and during the weeks prior to the July 31 trade deadline.
Today, our panel looks at the Mets lineup…
Enjoy…
Final Topic: The Roster
Why
is it, no matter what moves the Mets make during the off-season, their
fans are always seemingly expected to pay to watch a starting lineup
featuring players such as Eric Valent, Joe McEwing and Ricky Gutierrez,
with a James Baldwin on the mound? How does this happen in New York?
Peter Abraham, the Journal News:
Who says you are expected to pay? If you don’t like the team, don’t go.
Eric Valent is a pretty decent player, they released Baldwin and Joe
McEwing is the 25th player.
Adam Rubin, the Daily News: It’s
not like the Mets don’t go out and sign free agents. Cliff Floyd, Tom
Glavine and Kazuo Matsui are three in the past two years. The problem
relates to the inability to supplement those signings with homegrown
talent. If Aaron Heilman and Jeremy Griffiths excelled, there would
have been no reason to mess with Scott Erickson or James Baldwin. And
if Jeff Duncan were ready for the big leagues, Eric Valent wouldn’t
even have made the team.
Jason Mastaitis, Always Amazin weblog:
I’m not sure you should lump Valent in with the other three since he
was a decent enough risk to take on a cheap (and relatively young)
bench player. But the Mets habit of preferring past their prime
veterans to young unknowns is an organizational philosophy that has to
change. They always seem to pick the worst of the veteran castaways too.
Mike Marino, a Mets fan: I
feel GM Jim Duquette has done a good job of trying to minimize this
effect going forward – much of the mess we are seeing are leftovers
from the Steve Phillips regime. Looking at
the guys Duquette’s given big money to since he took over, such as Mike
Cameron, Kaz Matsui, Braden Looper, Steve Trachsel, they are all
players still in their primes with a long history of playing healthy. McEwing, however, I take the fifth on.
Peter Abraham: Why do people get so wrapped up in Joe McEwing? Look at the rosters; nobody has a star player as the 25th man. People need to calm down about Joe. He plays seven positions, never bitches and can catch if needed.
Jason Mastaitis:
This team will never be able to get “younger and more athletic” if you
don’t give the youngsters a chance to play. While I agree that you need
some veterans around to provide guidance and advice, I think having
Piazza, Glavine, and Leiter is plenty enough to build around. It’s
hard to compete in the same town as the Yankees, especially when their
cross-town rivals are scooping up the cream of the free agent crop, but
the Mets make their situation even worse by signing players that every
other team in the major leagues passed on.
Bryan Hoch, Mets Inside Pitch: On paper, the Mets always look pretty good in January. Look,
I’m not telling you that you should pay to watch Eric Valent bat
leadoff — if it were my dime, I know I’d certainly limit the number of
games I attended until the Mets really showed a commitment to winning.
Ken Rosenthal, the Sporting News:
Injuries are part of the equation for every team; I saw the Braves
field a lineup last week that included six players who spent last
season in Class AAA. That said, the overall sense I’m getting is that
fans are frustrated with a mediocre product. I can’t blame the fans for
feeling that way. This team plays in New York, for heaven’s sake. It
HAS to do better – period.
###
Metsblog.com’s State of the Mets Panel
Adam Rubin, known for getting witty quotes and breaking unique stories, covers the Mets for the Daily News.
Peter Abraham, highly regarded for his clever insights and fresh voice, covers the Mets for the Journal News.
Ken Rosenthal covers baseball for the Sporting News, and has made numerous appearances on ESPN, CNN, WFAN and FOX. Ken’s column appears daily at FoxSports.net.
Ed Tsunoda is the creator and administrator of NYFansites.com – the definitive source for information on Mets minor leaguers.
Bryan Hoch, renowned for his roll in starting the fan-website craze back in 1996, is the managing editor of New York Mets Inside Pitch.
Jason Mastaitis is a freelance writer and blogger for NJ.com’s Always Amazin weblog.
Mike Marino, a.k.a. Senor Mike, known for his quick wit and strong opinions, was selected from the ESPN Mets Message Board as our resident fan.
If you would like to receive an email when Metsblog is updated, click here: Update
For more Mets coverage, check out
Last Night’s Game…
Mike Piazza continued to struggle with his throws to second base. This time, however, it was while playing first, not catcher. Piazza’s throwing error set up Jim Thome‘s tiebreaking double and the Philadelphia Phillies scored six runs in the seventh inning to beat New York 7-4 Wednesday night (AP).
The Standings…
Team | W | L | GB |
25 | 19 | - | |
26 | 20 | - | |
23 | 23 | 3 | |
22 | 23 | 3.5 | |
15 | 31 | 11 |
The News…
Metsblog’s MetFans Confidence Rating continued to climb, as expected, jumping a small 8 percent to 5.89. Indicating that more than half the fans believe the Mets will be playing meaningful games in September.
Matt Ginter pitched six shutout innings for the Mets, lowering his ERA to 3.24 spanning three starts.
Reports indicate that Al Leiter’s side-session went well on Tuesday, though he still remains questionable for his start on Tuesday of next week.
Scott Erickson pitched four scoreless innings in a simulated game at Port St. Lucie on Tuesday.
Jayson Stark at ESPN writes: A source in New York City reports that the city is quietly moving ahead on plans to build new parks for both the Yankees (in the Bronx) and the Mets (in Queens) — and could announce both before the end of this season.
The Notes…
John Franco is 0-3 with a 5.30 ERA this season. He has walked 11 batters and allowed 18 hits in 18.2 innings pitched.
Kevin Czerwinski of MLB.com reports that the Mets have scouted Tampa Bay’s Victor Zambrano.
After having not allowed a single earned in run in his first 20.2 innings of the season, Braden Looper has now surrendered three in his last three innings pitched.
From the Pitching and Defense File: The Mets have committed the most errors of any team in the National League.
Kaz Matsui is the first Major Leaguer to have his first five homers come while leading off the first inning of a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“All [Kris Benson] needs is a better pitching plan,” a scout recently told Jayson Stark of ESPN. “He’s throwing 93-96 mph with a good slider. I just think he throws too much to one side of the plate (outer half). He doesn’t use both sides effectively, because he rushes out on his delivery. But this guy has good enough stuff to win.”
Stark believes the Mets will take Rice right-hander Philip Humber with the third pick in the upcoming amateur baseball draft. Jim Callis, however, of Baseball America, believes the Mets will select Florida State SS Stephen Drew, but wouldn’t be surprised if they end up selecting Rice’s Jeff Niemann or Humber, or Texas high school RHP Homer Bailey.
Tristan H. Cockcroft, Senior Fantasy Writer of CBS Sportsline, writes the following: You can count on two hands the number of pitchers who posted a 20-win season at age 38 or older, and all of those were either knuckleballers, pitched before 1950 or were named Roger Clemens. [Tom] Glavine is no Clemens, and the Mets are no Astros in terms of run support.
Metsblog.com’s Take…
At the conclusion of each loss, I’m stuck shaking my head over what feels like a bevy of blown scoring opportunities. Last week, while listening to Steve Summers on WFAN, he said, “the Mets have left more men in scoring position this season than Paris Hilton.” This is funny, but painful nevertheless.
The Mets have 100 hits with men in scoring position this year, which, surprisingly, is good for fourth best in the National League. Fourth best. With two outs and runners in scoring position the team has 57 hits, second best among all National League teams, and third best in baseball.
Yet, only four teams average fewer runs per game.
Inversely, they are fourth from the bottom in the National League in attaining hits when nobody is on base, and only six hits separate them from ranking last. Additionally, only the Phillies and Reds have drawn more walks then the Mets this year.
So what does this mean?
If they aren’t scoring enough runs, hitting in clutch spots, but not when it counts, then I guess the only solution is to pitch better and play better defense, because these stats make very little sense.
Help me Bill James…you’re my only hope.###
If you would like to receive an email when Metsblog is updated, click here: Update
After reading today’s post, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most confident, how confident are you that the Mets will play “meaningful games” in September of 2004?
For more Mets coverage, check out
Each day this week Metsblog will bring together Adam
Rubin of the Daily News, Peter Abraham of the Journal Record, Ken
Rosenthal of the Sporting News, Ed Tsunoda from NYFanSites.com, Bryan
Hoch managing editor of Mets Inside Pitch, Jason Mastaitis from the
Star-Ledger’s Always Amazin weblog, and Mike Marino, our resident fan,
to discuss the current State of the Mets.
A
similar panel will reconvene to discuss a new crop of topics at the
All-Star Break and during the weeks prior to the July 31 trade deadline.
Today, our panel looks at whether or not the Mets have a public relations problem…
Enjoy…
Topic Two: Public Relations
Do the Mets have a public relations problem? Whether
it is a miscommunication about potential free agents, the misdiagnosis
of player health, the delicate balance between ticket prices and
on-field talent or simply failing to meet trumped up expectations,
which ultimately leads to a sense of dishonesty, it seems as though the
Mets organization can never “get it right” when dealing with their fans. Is
this a public relations failure, or simply an unavoidable,
damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t, by-product of playing in New York?
Peter Abraham, the Journal News: I think the Mets are somewhat heavy-handed in their dealings with the public but less so than many teams in baseball. The trumped-up expectations are a product of playing in New York, nothing they do.
Adam Rubin, the Daily News: I think a lot of the negativity in coverage would be solved by winning. No one is clamoring to investigate Jose Reyes‘ treatment if the Mets are in first place and showing no signs of missing him. New
York isn’t like other markets, but I’m sure the Yankees would be given
some of the same grief if they finished in last place back-to-back
seasons.
Jason Mastaitis, Always Amazin weblog: The
Mets PR people seem to have a touch of “leaky pool syndrome,” whereby
they try to patch up a leaky liner as a quick fix instead of replacing
it. Then, when the neighbors are out wondering why their yard is
flooded, the Mets blame it on bad luck.
Adam Rubin: Some of it is simply misfortune, too. There
was no way they could have foreseen events like Bill Singer’s treatment
of Kim Ng and the allegations against former Brooklyn manager Leon Lee.
Jason Mastaitis:
Granted, many of the leaks weren’t their fault and the public does put
an awful lot of pressure on them, but all the excuses didn’t help much
either. They did the same thing this year
with the Floyd and Reyes injuries, raising hope to sell a few more
tickets and instead driving fan optimism into the ground.
Ken Rosenthal, the Sporting News: It doesn’t seem to me that the Mets are dishonest with their public. They’re just not doing as good a job as they should be running their team. And yes, the Wilpons are ultimately responsible.
Mike Marino, a Mets fan: The Mets always seem to go into ‘damage control’ mode way too soon, either by shielding the truth or hiding it altogether. It is a byproduct of Fred Wilpon’s eternal fear of appearing foolish, cheap, shortsighted, dumb, and so on. Being defensive usually backfires. I do think there is most definitely a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t aspect to this team. It appeared as if Duquette was nearing an end on this trend when he took over the job and rode to January.
Bryan Hoch, Mets Inside Pitch: Even
with all of the scandals the Mets have had, there was little the Mets
could do to ‘damage control’ a lot of them — Grant Roberts appearing
on the cover of Newsday, bong in hand? Vince Coleman tossing firecrackers? Bret Saberhagen spraying bleach? It’s hard to sweep those things under the rug. You
can’t argue that the Mets have messed up a number of times over the
last few years, most recently with the Vladimir Guerrero situation. But
I also really believe that there are a number of writers in New York
who love to play up the angle of the Mets as the downtrodden, losing
companion to the do-no-wrong Yankees. Mike
Vaccaro wrote a column criticizing the Yankees in the Post last week;
aside from that, I’m having trouble coming up with another example of a
columnist or writer banging on the Empire’s door. Conversely, the Daily
News’ Bill Madden ripped Mike Piazza as a lonely player in spring
training, then came after the Mets farm system out of nowhere last
week, slipping up on a player’s name to boot. If
and when the Yankee parade finally comes to a low point, it’ll be
interesting to see how coverage changes in general. I think far too
many fans let the newspapers do their thinking for them.
Mike Marino: [Duquette] was a straight shooter with what he felt was the direction this team needed to follow. And to be honest, I think he was upfront with how the Mets planned on approaching (and approached) the Guerrero situation. He
attempted to minimize expectations as much as possible, admitting they
were trying to grab hold of an advantageous situation. As well intentioned as it was, it was a flawed approach simply because most Mets fans did not feel ‘trying’ was good enough…consistent failure will do that. All hell broke loose, essentially opening Pandora’s Box. Going forward it made the Mets even more cautious then ever, leading to miscue after miscue since January.
Jason Mastaitis:
To their credit, they seem to have recovered from this somewhat with
the Reyes situation, now refusing to give a timetable for his return. As a result, expectations have died and the pressure is gone. Here’s hoping they’ve finally learned their lesson and they’ll continue to do the same in the future.
###
Metsblog.com’s State of the Mets Panel
Adam Rubin, known for getting witty quotes and breaking unique stories, covers the Mets for the Daily News.
Peter Abraham, highly regarded for his clever insights and fresh voice, covers the Mets for the Journal News.
Ken Rosenthal covers baseball for the Sporting News, and has made numerous appearances on ESPN, CNN, WFAN and FOX. Ken’s column appears daily at FoxSports.net.
Ed Tsunoda is the creator and administrator of NYFansites.com – the definitive source for information on Mets minor leaguers.
Bryan Hoch, renowned for his roll in starting the fan-website craze back in 1996, is the managing editor of New York Mets Inside Pitch.
Jason Mastaitis is a freelance writer and blogger for NJ.com’s Always Amazin weblog.
Mike Marino, a.k.a. Senor Mike, known for his quick wit and strong opinions, was selected from the ESPN Mets Message Board as our resident fan.
If you would like to receive an email when Metsblog is updated, click here: Update
“If the team performs well, and I certainly hope it does,” Fred Wilpon told the New York Times, “Jim [Duquette] will be on the lookout for how we can improve the team.”
Here are the Mets options for acquiring a starting pitcher and a starting positional player…
The Bat…
Appearing on MLB.com Radio, Ken Rosenthal suggested that Diamondbacks’ OF Steve Finley could potentially approve a deal if he felt his employer had no interest in retaining him for next season. A free agent at the end of this season, Finley, 39, due $6.75 million this season, is still an outstanding defensive centerfielder, and would likely shift to right if brought to Shea. This season, Finley, a notorious slow starter and strong finisher, is batting .290 with 14 home runs, putting him on pace to hit roughly 40 for the season.
It has also been suggested that the Diamondbacks could look to shed payroll by exporting 1B-3B Shea Hillenbrand, set to make $2.6 million this season and arbitration eligible. A deal involving both Hillenbrand and Finley would excuse Arizona anywhere from $4.65 million to $9.35 million on this year’s payroll. If the Mets were inclined to shoulder the entire bill, it is most likely that minimal prospects would need to be parted with.
According to rumors and reports dating back to last winter and all the way through a few weeks ago, Boston cold make OF Johnny Damon available, assuming they attain a quality starting pitcher in return. Damon is set to make $8 million this season and $8.5 million next year, at which point he becomes a free agent. At 30-years-old, the centerfielder has hit his stride, posting similar seasons each of the last three years. For the Mets to acquire Damon, however, they would likely need a third team involved, as all buyers are likely in the market for a starting pitcher, including the Mets.
The Toronto Star cites a Los Angeles broadcast as saying the Blue Jays and Dodgers are discussing a deal that would send OF Juan Encarnacion and a prospect, rumored to be SP Bryan Morris, to the Blue Jays for 1B Carlos Delgado. Many Met fans and media have begun pounding the podium for their club to acquire Delgado as a first baseman when the slugger hits free agency at the end of this season. For now, to acquire Delgado, set to make $18.5 million this season, it appears the Blue Jays are looking to bring in young arms, starters and relievers, which the Mets have plenty to part with. So far, Delgado has slumped in 2004, compared to his stellar 2003 season. Batting just .230 with six home runs, his numbers away from hitter friendly Skydome, a .183 average, only two home runs and 25 strikeouts, are concerning to say the least.
At 17-27, and already seven games out of first, it would stand to reason that the Rockies will again look at suitors for OF Preston Wilson, the $21 million remaining on the final two years of his contract, and his surgically repaired knee, an injury he is due to return from within a few weeks. Wilson, 29-years-old and a product of the Mets’ farm system, hit .260 with 14 home runs when batting away from Colorado last season, following a career .269 average in six seasons in Florida.
Rosenthal also claims that Kansas City and Seattle will be the most active teams, as they look to rein in payroll in an effort to reload for the future.
Kansas City GM Alan Baird has not been shy when discussing his intentions regarding All Star OF Carlos Beltran. Reports indicate that Baird will only accept Major League ready positional players. The catch to Beltran, 27-years-old and having the best season of his career, is that he is currently due $9 million and will hit the free-agent market at the end of the season. His agent, Scott Boras, is notorious for dragging out negotiations, turning over all possible stones, teasing the New York fans, owners and media so to jack up his client’s price, and is a man who settles for nothing short of maximum compensation. In all likelihood, a Beltran acquisition, for any team, even one’s wearing pinstripes and playing in the Bronx, will be forced to watch Boras shop around Beltran until at least the Winter Meetings this off-season. The term “Rent-a-Player” was not this relevant since Mike Hampton.
Another Kansas City alternative could come in the form of OF Juan Gonzalez. Making $4 million this season, with a mutual option for next year, Gonzalez, 35, is batting just .275 this season with only five home runs, four of which were hit on the road. Though he has snubbed New York twice, both Mets and Yankees, his career is fading and a last ditch effort to win a Championship could pique his interest. It has also been reported that Baird would like to move 3B Joe Randa, although it would seem the Mets will not look to upgrade at third by going outside the organization. While the Royals are hoping to attain Major League talent for Beltran, prospects and projects are rumored to be acceptable bait in a deal for Gonzalez and/or Randa. According to the New Jersey Star-Ledger, Mets scout Roland Johnson was in the stands during Kansas City’s game Tuesday night.
The Arm…
In what has been a long time coming, the Pirates appear ready to deal SP Kris Benson. Now 30-years-old, Benson, due $6.1 million before hitting free agency, has still yet to attain the levels many once believed he was capable of. This season, Benson holds a 3-3 record, a 4.62 ERA, has walked 23 batters while striking out just 32 and has allowed batters to hit .298 against him. The Pirates habitually look to acquire youngsters who are far off from arbitration eligible yet are also showing signs of realized potential, such as 2B Danny Garcia.
In addition to wanting to purge Delgado’s contract, Toronto is also reportedly interested in dealing SP Pat Hentgen. In the midst of a one-year deal, Hentgen is far removed from his best days. At only 35-years-old, however, it is believed he could come rather inexpensively in exchange for cash and mid-level positional prospects.
Kansas City, the hub of MLB’s rumor central apparently, is also reportedly shopping SP Brian Anderson and SP Darrell May, both in the first season of affordable two-year contracts. The two 32-year-olds posted eye-opening seasons in 2003. While Anderson finished last season with a 14-11 record and a 3.79 ERA, pitching for both Cleveland and the Royals, May posted a 10-8 mark, a 3.77 ERA and struck out 115 batters compared to only 53 walks. Most recently, however, they’ve struggled. This season, both pitchers are 1-6. Similar to a deal involving Gonzalez and Randa, it is reported that Baird hopes to simply stockpile his farm system in return for all deals not including Beltran.
If Beltran is the crown jewel of available outfielders, it appears Seattle SP Freddy Garcia holds the title for starting pitchers. Similar to their deal in 1998, which sent Randy Johnson to Seattle for a package of prospects, one of which was Garcia, the Mariners are looking to do the same again. It is reported that Seattle doesn’t seek cash, but highly touted prospects, preferably position players, but the key being the immediate impact the deal will have on the big league club. While both Boston and the Yankees are rumored to be part of the many interested teams, it is worth noting their farm systems are quite depleted. Jon McGrath of the News Tribune in Seattle writes, while discussing a deal for Garcia, “the Mets have precisely what the Mariners need. His name is David Wright.”
Something To Note…
Most teams will usually wait to acquire high-salary players until after the All-Star Break because at that point, the acquiring team is only on the hook for paying half the player’s salary. Inversely, however, team’s looking to shed payroll and trade a superstar making a ton of money would prefer to deal the player prior to the break.
The question the Mets must ask themselves is: If we are truly in this race, and are tired of being burned as we have in the past, do we make a deal now and pay the full tab, when fewer teams are in shopping mode and we have a better chance of being heard, or do we wait when more teams are looking to make acquisitions and pay less, but risk being outbid and losing the player we want?
Tough call.
Metsblog would advise simply making the move now, for two reasons: 1) Duquette was wise to allow for this scenario in the Mets budget, so the team has the ability to overpay financially should it deem the acquisition worthy, and 2) as Wilpon stated to the New York Times, and as most Mets fans would agree, nobody wants to see the team give up on youngsters such as David Wright, Matt Peterson and Scott Kazmir.
In the case of Beltran, the Royals might be less likely to ask for a highly touted prospect, such as Wright, if they were freed of Beltran’s entire $9 million, as opposed to only $4.5 million.
In other words, Jim Duquette, start dialing those phones now.
###
This article can also be read at NYFanSites.com.
Last Night’s Game…
Mike Piazza homered off Philadelphia’s Eric Milton and drove in two runs, Cliff Floyd added a two-run double and Steve Trachsel allowed just four hits in 6 2-3 shutout innings leading the Mets to a 5-0 victory – their ninth in 12 games. Mike Stanton relieved Trachsel with the bases loaded and struck out Jimmy Rollins on a 3-2 pitch.
The Standings…
| Team | W | L | GB |
| Phillies | 24 | 19 | - |
| Marlins | 25 | 20 | - |
| Mets | 23 | 22 | 2 |
| Braves | 21 | 23 | 3.5 |
| Expos | 15 | 30 | 10 |
“We’re not close enough yet,” Manager Art Howe told the AP. “If we’re one game out, I’ll think about it. But I hope I’ll have those thoughts (about first place).”
The News…
The NY Post runs the following headline this morning: INJURED REYES SUFFERS SETBACK. Ugh! The Post states: [Jose] Reyes was scratched from last night’s Single-A St. Lucie game against Clearwater due to what was termed lower-back soreness. He will be re-evaluated this morning.
According to the Star-Ledger, Mets scout Roland Johnson was in the stands during Kansas City’s game against last night. A SP-Brian Anderson and OF-Carlos Beltran fact finding mission? Maybe.
Fred Wilpon told reporters that he would allow GM Jim Duquette to acquire “What is needful. Wilpon continued, “I’m not going to unload the minor-league system. We’re not going to do that. But that doesn’t mean we won’t trade guys in the system if it doesn’t decimate the system.”
Tyler Yates will return to the Triple-A Norfolk, and resume his roll as a reliever. “He got the opportunity to see what it was like to start but it was pretty evident that his velocity changed as the game went on,” manager Art Howe told MLB.com.
Mets reliever Grant Roberts had arthroscopic surgery on his right Paletta and was moved to the club’s 60-day disabled list.
Infielder Ricky Gutierrez cleared release waivers last night. The long-time veteran is now a free agent.
The Notes…
Trachsel is 3-0 with a 1.36 ERA in May. He has not allowed a run in his 14 innings pitched.
According to several reports, Justin Huber, the Mets’ top catching prospect at Double-A Binghamton, has started practicing a little at first base.
It’s been more than two years since the Mets were two games over the .500 mark.
Mets OF prospect Prentice Redman is leading the Eastern League with 30 extra-base hits.
Capital City’s starting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit is leading the South Atlantic League with a 1.62 ERA.
Free agent Raul Mondesi has drawn interest from several clubs; but the Mets, according to the MLB.com, are not among them.
MSG points out that the Mets are 13-7 when Tom Glavine and Trachsel pitch.
From MLB.com: Dunkin’ Donuts and the Mets have teamed up to host a charitable on-line auction to benefit The Mets Foundation. Fans can bid online at Mets.com for a number of items, including autographed balls by Kazuo Matsui, Al Leiter, Tom Glavine, Tom Seaver and Keith Hernandez. The chance to bid on throwing out the first pitch at an upcoming game is also available.
Things To Know For Tonight’s Game…
Matt Ginter will make his third start for the Mets on Wednesday night against the Phillies at Shea Stadium. Ginter is 1-0 with 5.06 ERA. He cruised in his first start against Houston and struggled his next against the Rockies.
- Brett Myers starts tonight for the Phillies. Myers was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA against the Mets last season. Jason Phillips is 5-for-10 against Myers. Right-handed batters are hitting .299 against RHP Myers this season.
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After reading today’s post, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most confident, how confident are you that the Mets will play “meaningful games” in September of 2004?
For more Mets coverage, check out
Jonathan Mayo, MLB.com’s Minor League expert, has agreed to sit down with Metsblog.com for a discussion on the Mets farm system.
If you would like to submit a question for Mr. Mayo, leave it as a comment in the space below.
The Notes
Steve Trachsel, starting tonight against the Phillies, has a 2.00 ERA in his last eight starts.
Eric Milton (5-0, 4.47 ERA), starting for the Phillies tonight, has not pitched more than six innings in any of his eight starts this season. The Phillies have averaged just over six runs per game while he is on the mound.
The Phillies are 7-3 in their last ten games, a span in which they averaged 7.2 runs a game.
From the “It’s still early” department: The Mets are currently 4-11 against teams from the NL Central. Even a sub-par record of 7-8, would make the Mets 25-19 overall and tied for first place in the NL East.
“You have to start somewhere,” Tom Glavine told Peter Booth of the Daily News. “Obviously we’re in this thing to try and win. Whether or not people think that’s realistic, we don’t really care…We show up every day to try and win games and try and win our division, and get in the playoffs, and all that stuff. Each step you can take along the way to doing that is an important one. “It’s one step for right now,” Glavine continued, speaking about attaining a .500 record, “but now that we’re here, hopefully it’s that sigh of relief and we can move on and get past it.”
32 percent of the Mets final 118 games of the season are against the Phillies and the Marlins.
- The Mets are 7-3 since Cliff Floyd’s return from the disabled list on May 13. In the games while Floyd was on the DL, Mike Piazza hit .271 with a .389 OBP. Since Floyd’s return, Piazza is batting .388 with a .476 OBP and has a hit in all ten games. It should also be noted that Jason Phillips is batting .416 since Floyd’s return as well
Metsblog.com’s Take
Here’s to meaningful games…ya gotta believe.
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After reading today’s post, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being most confident, how confident are you that the Mets will play “meaningful games” in September of 2004?
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Each day this week Metsblog will bring together Adam
Rubin of the Daily News, Peter Abraham of the Journal Record, Ken
Rosenthal of the Sporting News, Ed Tsunoda from NYFanSites.com, Bryan
Hoch managing editor of Mets Inside Pitch, Jason Mastaitis from the
Star-Ledger’s Always Amazin weblog, and Mike Marino, our resident fan,
to discuss the current State of the Mets.
A
similar panel will reconvene to discuss a new crop of topics at the
All-Star Break and during the weeks prior to the July 31 trade deadline.
Today, our panel discusses the much-advertised “youth movement” and where it has, or hasn’t, gone off course…
Enjoy…
Topic One: Youth Movement
The Mets are currently the fourth oldest team in baseball, with their average player roughly 31-years-old. With
Jason Phillips and Ty Wigginton batting around .200, Grant Roberts
status in limbo, Tyler Yates sent back to the minors, Jae Seo’s
struggles, and the chronic injuries to Jose Reyes, is the much hyped
“youth movement” looking to be a potential failure?
Ken Rosenthal, The Sporting News:
The one thing that bugs me about the Mets is their failure to think big
- they play in New York, for heaven’s sake, and need to act like it. I
thought they should have pushed harder for Vladimir Guerrero, just as I
thought they should have signed Alex Rodriguez in 2000. It
boggles my mind that in both cases they failed to sign a relatively
young, athletic star who would put them back on the back pages.
Ed Tsunoda, NYFanSites.com: I think a [Vladimir] Guerrero type signing would be like buying a plasma screen TV as your first move on an episode of Bob Vila’s ‘This Old House’. Sure, it’d be nice, but it won’t fix everything that’s wrong with the foundation.
Jason Mastaitis:
I half agree with Ken in that I thought Guerrero was a no-brainer.
Granted, there was no guarantee that Vlad would have wanted to play in
New York, but Anaheim got him for a sack of magic beans. The Mets certainly only made a lukewarm effort and are paying the price for it this season. Vlad
wouldn’t have won any championships by himself but he would have sold a
heckuva’ lot of tickets and took some pressure off the other players in
the lineup too.
Adam Rubin, The Daily News:
The youth movement’s failure so far also should be an indictment of the
Mets’ front office, which has vastly overstated the quality of the
minor-league system. With Scott Kazmir and
Bob Keppel nursing injuries, the only high-end prospects close to being
major-league ready are Wright and Peterson.
Mike Marino, aMets fan: I can’t call it a failure yet because the complete Mets youth movement is a process that will last from 2004 through 2006.
Adam Rubin: The organization also needs to get out of its mind-set of deferring to veterans, which is no secret.
Ed Tsunoda:
Since the last days of spring training, the Mets have added Gerald
Williams, Wilson Delgado, Ricky Bottalico, Scott Erickson, Ricky
Gutierrez, John Pachot and James Baldwin to their major league and AAA
rosters. Those seven additions on top of an
off-season where they either added or resigned John Franco, Todd Zeile,
Mike Cameron, Shane Spencer, and Joe McEwing, make a dozen additions
this off-season with an average age of 35. In
fact, aside from Matt Ginter (26) – who they got for Timo Perez – and
Eric Valent (27) – the Rule V pick – I can’t think of a single player
under age 28 they acquired since the end of last season.
Jason Mastaitis:There are minor league equivalents for virtually every guy over 34-years-old on the roster. John Franco needs to have a nice appreciation night and soon.
Senor Mike Marino: It appears we are all in strict agreement on the high regard the Mets hold for their “experienced veterans”. They
have put too much stock into the hopeful comebacks of largely
‘has-beens’, and most of them, such as Gerald Williams, James Baldwin
and Scott Erickson, are specifically standing in the progress-path of
youth, like Prentice Redman, Bobby Malek and Aaron Heilman. I
am fine with the signing of these veterans as safety nets under the
conditions that A) there is room in the minor leagues to house them
without displacing younger players and B) they are the only legitimate
option when their role becomes open.
Bryan Hoch, Mets Insider Pitch:
The most interesting part of the 2003 season came when the Mets allowed
young talent like Reyes, Jeff Duncan and Danny Garcia to play; not
because it produced their only winning month of the year in August, but
because it at least suggested that there would be brighter days on the
horizon. As far the Guerrero thing goes, I
think we all pretty much felt from the get-go that Fred Wilpon wasn’t
going to authorize a run at a player with a questionable injury history. He
said as much in one of the press conferences over the winter, when he
hinted that they couldn’t find an insurance company that would cover an
unnamed free agent star player’s back (hmm…) the way some company had
covered Mo Vaughn’s large frame, thus saving the Mets’ bacon this year. The
way they went about fooling the fans with all of this baloney about
medical reports and such was laughable, but to be expected.
Ken Rosenthal: Guerrero’s health is a question, no doubt. I’m not saying they were completely wrong in their approach. But the team needs to make itself more relevant, especially in a market like New York.
Senor Mike Marino: Making moves for the sake of the back pages is a flawed approach – something the Mets have hopefully learned. Once
they consistently make intelligent baseball moves for the right reasons
they’ll start winning, and once they start winning they’ll be on the
back pages.
###
Metsblog.com’s State of the Mets Panel
Adam Rubin, known for getting witty quotes and breaking unique stories, covers the Mets for the Daily News.
Peter Abraham, highly regarded for his clever insights and fresh voice, covers the Mets for the Journal News.
Ken Rosenthal covers baseball for the Sporting News, and has made numerous appearances on ESPN, CNN, WFAN and FOX. Ken’s column appears daily at FoxSports.net.
Ed Tsunoda is the creator and administrator of NYFansites.com – the definitive source for information on Mets minor leaguers.
Bryan Hoch, renowned for his roll in starting the fan-website craze back in 1996, is the managing editor of New York Mets Inside Pitch.
Jason Mastaitis is a freelance writer and blogger for NJ.com’s Always Amazin weblog.
Mike Marino, a.k.a. Senor Mike, known for his quick wit and strong opinions, was selected from the ESPN Mets Message Board as our resident fan.
