Monthly Archives: June 2004
Being a Mets Fan
By Tal Eisenberg
I arrived in this country in December of 1985. I cried my first day of school. I couldn’t speak the language, I had no friends and missed my old ones from home, and most importantly, there was no football – or soccer as some of you may call it.
I slowly learned English, picking up a nifty “New Yawk accent” along the way. Eventually, I made some of the best friends a guy could ever have. But, I still missed ruthlessly cheering on my favorite athlete for the hometown team. That is until the 1986 baseball season.
It wasn’t long before I was falling asleep with a glove by my side every night and wearing my new favorite shirt to class everyday – a Darryl Strawberry jersey.
Ever since game six of the 1986 World Series I have been a believer. Ya Gotta Believe is the away message on my instant messenger. Mr. Met is my buddy icon. Every summer I try to convince my mom to grow a strawberry patch in her garden. Sometimes she even obliges – she thinks it’s cute that I’m directing my passion for the Mets into something constructive, like agriculture.
No one can deny that being a Met fan requires a lot of heart and passion. From the days of pretending to throw my mitt as high as Orosco’s, to the days of Saberhagen and Coleman, to rooting as hard as I could for Todd Hundley to hit 41 home runs, to the recent good times of Ventura’s Grand Slam Single, it has not always been easy.
The last three years have been amongst the toughest, but we need to show our support.
Though the Mets are two games below .500, we have something to cheer about – whether you think we will end up in third or winning the World Series. These Mets are finally exciting again. It is great to be grasping my pillow, sitting on the edge of the sofa and screaming at my television again, simply because I care so much and can’t stand seeing this team lose one single game. It’s not easy, but rooting for the Mets shouldn’t be any other way.
Come to the park, wear your blue and orange in Times Square, do whatever it takes, but with our help – the fans – and only our help, can these Mets become what we so much love about them: a nail biting, high stress, high reward National League power.
I like to criticize and complain as much as the next fan, but at the end of the day I love them. I can’t deny it. In short, not only for these next 13 games, but always, ya gotta believe.
###
If you would like to submit a Fan Editorial of your own, click here: I Want To Write
The Game…
Cliff Floyd hit two of New York’s three homers off Todd Van Poppel, driving in four runs and leading the Mets to a 7-5 victory Tuesday over the Cincinnati Reds (AP).
SP Jae Seo allowed eight hits and four runs with five strikeouts and three walks in 6 1/3 innings, against a Reds lineup without Ken Griffey or Sean Casey.
Tonight’s Game…
Tom Glavine and his league leading 2.11 ERA take the hill for the Mets tonight. Glavine is 25-10 in his career against the Reds, who are 11-13 when facing left-handed pitching this season.
The Standings…
Team | W | L | GB |
40 | 35 | - | |
41 | 36 | - | |
37 | 38 | 3 | |
36 | 40 | 4.5 | |
25 | 50 | 15 |
The Quote…
“I would certainly say Kazuo Matsui of the Mets has been a bust. There’s no doubt about that.” – Donald Trump, on ESPN’s Budweiser Hot Seat, when asked who he would fire in baseball.
The News…
The Mets recalled SP Scott Erickson on Monday, then demoted him, putting him on waivers. If he clears within 72-hours, he will return to AAA-Norfolk.
Peter Abraham of the Journal News reports that the Mets have offered 3B Ty Wigginton to the Reds as part of a package for either RHP Cory Lidle or RHP Paul Wilson, both former Mets. Lidle, 32, signed a one-year deal with the Reds worth $2.75 million for this season. Wilson, 31, is in the second season of a two-year deal. He is making $3.5 million this season.
According to the New York Times, the Mets had a scout at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Monday, presumably to watch RHP Kris Benson pitch against the Cardinals. Benson threw eight innings and allowed one run.
The Notes…
Danny Garcia started at first base for AAA-Norfolk last night. He then switched to shortstop in the fourth inning. Garcia was 2-for-5 with a double and hit his first home run of the season for Norfolk.
The New York Post reports that The Mets plan to pursue Anaheim pitcher Ramon Ortiz. The LA Times mentions the Mets interest, as well.
Jose Parra has not allowed a run in 5 1/3 innings in five appearances with the Mets.
3B David Wright checks in at number four on this week’s Baseball America Prospect Hot Sheet, Yusmerio Petit ranks as number eight. Wright hit .385 with a pair of home runs last week, and has reached base 26 times in 14 games at Norfolk. Petit recorded his fourth consecutive double-digit strikeout game Friday night, he has 122 Ks in just 83 innings.
###
Who’s Available – Starting Pitching
By Matthew Cerrone of Metsblog.com
With over 70 percent of
the league either in first place or within seven games of the division
lead, the sellers are few and far between. The list of reportedly
available starting pitchers is as follows: Pittsburgh’s Kris Benson,
Seattle’s Jamie Moyer, Gil Meche and Joel Pineiero, Montreal’s Livan
Hernandez, Atlanta’s Russ Ortiz, Anaheim’s Ramon Ortiz, Colorado’s
Jason Jennings, Oakland’s Barry Zito, Philadelphia’s Kevin Millwood and
Milwaukee’s Ben Sheets.
Mets SP Matt Ginter,
acquired in a deal for OF Timo Perez, started the season 1-0, with a
2.43 ERA in six starts, and appeared to be the team’s solution for a
fifth starter. Since that time, however, Ginter is 0-2 in three starts
with a 10.22 ERA, allowing more than two runners on base per inning for
a team that leads the league in errors.
Jae Seo has not been much
better. Seo’s ERA hasn’t been below 4.50 since he returned to the
starting rotation on April 18. Following a fantastic rookie season, Seo
has allowed at least one hit per inning, and has walked only five
batters less than he has struck out, 23 to 28.In other words, the Mets
are in dire need of a starting pitcher.
The buzz making most sense involves a rumor sending Mets 3B Ty Wigginton to Pittsburgh in exchange for SP Kris Benson, due 3$ million for the remainder of this season.
“[The Pirates] want too
much right now,” a Mets official told Newsday. Brian Oneill of the
Pittsburgh Gazette told Metsblog.com that the Pirates are not dying to
trade Benson, especially for a third baseman, since the club is rather
high on Rob Mackowiak, who has put up similar numbers to
Wigginton. The Pirates also remain excited about 2B Freddy
Sanchez, currently on the disabled list with an ankle injury.
Ken Rosenthal of the
Sporting News points out that the pitching-wing of the New York Yankees
loves Benson, but their front office doesn’t. Both the Cardinals and
Angels are rumored to be interested in Benson as well, but, “He’s such
an underachiever, it’s sick,” one executive told Rosenthal. “He’s tough
to watch. It doesn’t look like he has a pulse.”
Appearing on WFAN this
afternoon, Pirates GM Dave Littlefield told Jody MacDonald and Sid
Rosenberg that he and Jim Duquette have talked about a “variety of
things” to date.
The New York media appears to be outfitting SP Jamie Moyer
for a Yankees uniform. According to Peter Gammons, however, “the Ms
have told all inquiring teams that they will NOT trade Jamie Moyer.”
Moyer is making $7 million this year and is scheduled to make $2
million next year.
Expos SP Livan Hernandez
has averaged 18 quality starts in each of the last three seasons, and
appears to have been tapped by most Met fans as their first choice to
replace Ginter or Seo.
Stephanie Myles of the
Montreal Gazette, however, told Metsblog.com.com that Hernandez is not
on the market. It stands to reason that with the team’s relocation in
the wings and Hernandez now under contract for roughly $23 million over
three-years, the Expos would prefer to hang on to their ace for
stability. Bill Madden of Newsday writes more or less the same, citing
a personal discussion with Expos GM Omar Minaya.
Only one game behind the
Mets in the race for the National League East, there has been talk out
of Atlanta that both OF Andruw Jones and SP Russ Ortiz could
be moved by the trade deadline. David O’Brien of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution agrees with Metsblog.com, stating, “Barring hell
freezing over,” the Braves will not trade Ortiz to the Mets.
According to multiple reports, Angels SP Ramon Ortiz
has asked his team to trade him. In two starts replacing the injured
Aaron Sele, Ortiz gave up one run in 11 1/3 innings, following a year
in which he posted a 5.20 ERA in 32 starts. The Angels activated Sele
from the disabled list Saturday, relegating Ortiz back to the bullpen.
“As I said to him, ‘Ramon,
we’re not just going to deal you. We think you have value to us,’ ”
Angels GM Bill Stoneman told the Los Angeles Times. “The only way we
would do a deal is if it helped our club. This is a guy who can help
our club, whether it’s in the bullpen or whether it’s starting.” Ortiz
is making $3.1million this season and has a $5.5 million club option
for next year with a $100,000 buyout.
Scott Miller, senior
writer for CBS Sportsline believes the Angels would seek an upgrade
over current third baseman Chone Figguns in exchange for Ortiz. It
should be noted the Angels have 3B Dallas McPherson in their farm
system, a player touted as highly as 3B David Wright. Therefore, it
would stand to reason they are looking for a temporary solution at
third, and would expect the other team to take on the majority of
Ortiz’s money.
Mark Saxon from the Orange County Register believes that the Angels would actually prefer to keep Ortiz, and find a taker for SP Aaron Sele
and a significant portion of his $9 million 2004 salary.
Following two rocky seasons, in 13 starts this year, Sele is 4-0 with a
3.92 ERA. Saxon agrees with Miller, adding that the Angels are
also in need of a left-handed reliever.
Multiple reports indicate that neither Blue Jays SP Miguel Batista nor SP Ted Lilly
is available. “Someone would really have to knock my socks off,” Blue
Jays G.M. J.P. Ricciardi told Ken Rosenthal of the Sporting News.
The same can be said for Colorado SP Jason Jennings.
“We are not going to trade Jason Jennings,” Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd is
repeatedly quoted as saying. “None of our young pitchers are
available.” Both Gammons and Rosenthal second this notion in their most
recent columns.
Most reports indicate that Oakland SP Barry Zito
will be available for trade come the off-season, as the A’s
attempt to sign Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder to long-term deals. As for
trading him now, however, both Ray Ratto and Susan Slusser of the
San Francisco Chronicle told Metsblog.com that with Hudson and
Harden now on the disabled list, Zito is going no place. When the time
comes, they believe the A’s will look to acquire bullpen help, a
starter for the outfield and potentially second base, as well as
plenty of financial relief.
A rumor floated around that the Mariners offered 26-year-old SP Gil Meche
to the Tigers for multi-positional player Brandon Inge. Meche, whose
fastball tops out around 95 mph, hurt his shoulder in 2000, but remains
one of the more promising young pitchers in baseball.
Corey Brock of the News
Tribune of Seattle told Metsblog.com, “I think that the Mariners would
be willing to part with Meche in the right deal – not SP Joel Pineiero,
though.” Brock believes Meche has fallen out of favor. “They’re very
high on Pineiero still.” In his ten starts this season, Meche has
struggled, posting a 7.06 ERA and allowing nearly two runners on base
per inning.
Brock, though, believes
Meche could be a bargain for a team, saying, “[Meche’s] problems, I
believe, can be fixed. We’re not talking about a drop in velocity or
missing movement on his pitches…he is still a guy with great stuff.”
According to Brock, the Mariners continue to look for power-hitting
first base and third base prospects.
National reporters have speculated that the Brewers could look to move SP Ben Sheets,
due less than $2 million through the remainder of the season, but
arbitration eligible next year. Don Walker, sports business
reporter
for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, told Metsblog.com that the Brewers
would not part with Sheets unless they bring back two- to-three young
quality-starting pitchers in the deal. Drew Olsen of the Journal
Sentinel adds, “People just assume teams like the Brewers will trade
anybody. Doug Melvin says he’s not motivated to trade Ben Sheets.
I believe him.”
The Mets are not going to
land a front-end starting pitcher, if for no other reason than there
aren’t many top-tier options on the market. Additionally, they refuse
to part with David Wright, which is smart. That being said, to pass on
an opportunity to acquire some established, but still developing,
starting pitching would be foolish.
Teaming a skilled pitcher,
such as Benson or Meche, up with a coach like Rick Peterson, in a
pitcher’s park like Shea Stadium, while parting with pieces that don’t
factor into team’s future, such as a 1B Craig Brazell or a 3B-2B Ty
Wigginton, must be explored. At some point the Mets must start
the process of getting younger in the starting rotation.
Although under-30-year-old
free agents like Odalis Perez, Carl Pavano, Matt Morris and Freddy
Garcia are all set to hit the open market next season, no team,
especially one in a pseudo-rebuilding mode, can ever pass up on young
pitching.
###
The Game…
Following a win against the Yankees on Saturday afternoon, the Mets lost both ends of a doubleheader on Sunday, dropping the team to two games below .500. They begin a three-game set in Cincinnati starting tomorrow night, followed by three more with the Yanks at Shea.
The Quote…
“I see the TV’s not on…Maybe I can break out the PlayStation and see if I can beat Mike Mussina in that game.” – Mike Cameron.
The Standings…
| Team | W | L | GB |
| Marlins | 40 | 35 | - |
| Phillies | 38 | 35 | 1 |
| Mets | 36 | 38 | 3.5 |
| Braves | 35 | 39 | 4.5 |
| Expos | 25 | 48 | 14 |
The News…
Metsblog is now accepting Fan Opinion Editorials, with the hope of posting at least one every few days or so. If you are interested in writing a 700-800 word Op-Ed, click here: Op-Ed.
MetFans Confidence Rating: Despite the rocky week, fan confidence remained stable, falling a fraction of a percentage point to 6.70.
SP Freddy Garcia had been from the Mariners to the White Sox along with catcher Ben Davis for Miguel Olivo and minor leaguers Jeremy Reed and Michael Morse.
From Ken Rosenthal‘s column today: The Mets want to add a starting pitcher once teams lower their asking prices, and they also would entertain a rental at third base. Royals 3B Joe Randa, a potential free agent, would make sense, but he has a no-trade clause. Someone like Mariners 3B Scott Spiezio, who is signed through 2006, would only block Class AAA 3B David Wright, who should be ready next season.
The Notes…
The Mets must make a decision regarding SP Scott Erickson today. Erickson will will either be released, or accept a club offer to remain at AAA. Erickson has a 6.97 ERA in five starts with the Tides.
During the doubleheader on Sunday, Mike Stanton inherited six runners in his 1 2/3 innings pitched. He allowed all six runs to score.
SP Steve Trachsel is 1-4 with a 7.88 earned run average away from Shea Stadium, compared with a 6-2 record and 1.76 ERA at home.
Mike Piazza is hitting .438 since OF Richard Hidalgo’s arrival.
Art Howe has decided to revert back to the team’s original pitching rotation. Instead of Tom Glavine throwing Tuesday against the Reds, then facing the Yankees over the weekend, he will pitch Wednesday, and get Philadelphia next week. Jae Seo, who was scheduled to be skipped altogether, will pitch the opener in Cincinnati tomorrow, then against the Yankees. Therefore, the match-ups for the Yankees series will be Steve Trachsel, Matt Ginter and Seo. “It’s important for [Glavine] to face the teams in our division,” manager Art Howe tolf reporters. Gkavine added, “It’s the right thing to do. I’m fine with it…The games in our division are more important. It makes total sense.”
Metsblog.com’s Take…
I understand, and agree to some extent, that the games against the Phillies are more important than those against the Yankees. However, the Yankees are a much better team than the Phillies. And since technically, no one game is more important than any other, it would stand to reason that the overriding philosophy would be to do what is best to win any one game. Therefore, wouldn’t pitching Glavine against the better team, the Yankees, so to ensure the Mets chances for a victory, be the better move.
I’ll take my chances with Seo or Ginter against the Phillies. They’ve beaten them before, and their lineup is strong. The Yankees lineup, on the other hand, is strong-to-quite-strong.
Who should be pitching when, is not the real issue, though. The real issue is that the conversation even needs to be had. This team is in such dire need of another consistent, quality starting pitcher it is staggering. Only 3.5 games out of first, with Philadelphia and Florida stumbling around, the Mets owe it to their fans, and even Mike Piazza for that matter, to try and capitalize on this gift from the Phillies and Marlins, without jeopardizing their future.
Get a starting pitcher…now.
Great Site…
Similar to the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, the amazing folks at Baseball Reference have created a baseball oracle. Check it out here: Baseball Oracle.
Question of the Day…
Would you like Metsblog to add a chat applet feature, where fans can debate in a chat room forum, in addition to the traditional message board system?
Updates…
If you would like to receive an email when Metsblog is updated, click here: Update
Mailbag…
If you have a question regarding the Mets, email us at updates@metsblog.com or send an AOL Instant Message to username: Metsblog. Select questions will be answered by Metsblog staff, fellow bloggers and appropriate members of the New York media. Responses will be featured once a month in our Mailbag section.
Poll…
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
Why we hate the Yankees
By Justin Gargiulo
A Metsblog Fan-Editorial
Every June, for the last eight years, the Yankees and their fans have inflicted pain upon their cross-town counterparts, the New York Mets. While the Yankees typically dismantle the Mets on the field due to superior physical ability, it is the Yankee fans that dispense crippling psychological abuse. Despite the savage beatings endured for the first four years and three Yankee Championships since interleague play began, Met fans actually had a chance for redemption in the 2000 World Series.
Be it Paul O’Neill’s walk, courtesy of Armando Benitiez and his milk baths in game one, or the foils of Byung Yung Kim during the 2001 series, the story ends the same: the Yankees will always find a way to beat you. And yes, Benitez actually took milk baths.
What makes this phenomenon all the more maddening is that it’s usually not one of the alleged Yankee “superstars” that will ultimately beat your team. The Yankees beat your favorite club in clutch spots with pedestrian players who go “Melvin Mora” on you when the game is on the line, such as Dent, Vizciano, Brosius, Leyritz, Boone, Soho, and so on.
Why is this? I don’t know. Why does Carrotop look eerily feminine? What is Dick Vermeil always crying about – is there ever an actual reason?
We hate the Yankees because many of them are obscenely overrated. Why are we made to believe that Derek Jeter is the Rowsell Alien and He-Man’s freakish wonder baby? In an era in which both Brady Anderson and Luis Gonzalez have hit 50 home runs, at this point, a player needs to hit roughly .390 and let me date his hot sister for me to call him a superstar. It’s not the great accolade it once was.
The bottom line is that Jeter is a good player who plays on a team with great pitching. Would we even be talking about him had the Pirates drafted him? And I’m sure Joe Torre is a nice guy, but he didn’t start winning until he had an owner with unlimited resources.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I must tell you that I am also a Dallas Cowboy fan. So yes, I think Jerry Jones is a good owner. Some people may view being a Cowboy lover and Yankee hater as the ultimate contradiction in terms. Predictably, I don’t look at it that way.
You see, while the Cowboys’ revenues exceed most teams in the league, they can’t outspend those teams for players. Also, the Cowboys cannot start their own network to air exclusive broadcasts of their games, using their fans as a pawn in a personal grudge match between the team’s owner and a cable company executive.
Sometime when I am not paying attention I stumble on the Yankees Entertainment Sports Network (YES). Every commercial break will, without exception, contain a 30 second highlight of a Yankee “magic moment”. It always amazes me, and makes me feel warm inside, to see how few people were in Yankee Stadium for some of these games, like Mickey Mantle’s 500th home run and Don Mattingly’s homer in his seventh straight game – yes that actually made the cut. Personally, I am waiting for the surveillance footage of Brien Taylor whacking that poor guy in the dome with a Coors light bottle – now that’s magic time!
Anyway, I digress…
As a red blooded, American capitalist, I don’t think it’s unfair that the Yankees have the highest payroll in baseball – they do make the most money. I know that I am envious. The Yankees are like your neighbor who has it all, nice car, boat, riding lawnmower, putting green, and even a jetpack. You know they are nice people who worked hard for these things, but it doesn’t mean you won’t steal their paper and make your dog crap on their lawn. It just has to be done.
More than anything, we hate the Yankees because of their fans. We hate their arrogance, we hate their condescending attitude, and we hate their feeling of entitlement. We hate the way they scream, “Let’s go Yan Kees,” and rub their 26 World Championships in our faces.
This utter disdain for Yankee fans consummates the odd marriage of convenience between Mets and Red Sox fans come every October. However, this past post-season, some Met fans become estranged from their Red Sox buddies who forgot to take their medication and became more belligerent and delusional than ever. Not me though, I stood by my deeply troubled and self-loathing Red Sox brethren adhering to the age-old axiom “an enemy of my enemy is my friend”.
I will always hate the Yankees. The fact of the matter is: the Yankees could not lose enough for my liking. Unfortunately, if they never win another Championship for the rest of my lifetime it would not heal the wounds that I have already endured as a Met fan.
Thank you Armando, I hope you enjoyed your milk bath.
###
If you would like to submit a fan editorial of your own, click here: http://www.metsblog.com/blog/_archives/2004/6/17/90740.html
The Game…
Two-time Gold Glove winner Mike Cameron, sunglasses down,
seemed set to catch the ball. Then, at the last second, it glanced off his
glove for a two-base error, clearing the bases as the Cincinnati Reds rallied
for five runs and a 6-2 victory over the New York Mets. Cameron’s error foiled a strong start by Tom
Glavine (7-4), who took a 2-1 lead into the seventh (The Associated Press).
The Quote…
“It was pretty bad out there with the
sun directly above you,” ten time Gold Glove winner Ken Griffey Jr. told
reporters. “Balls hit on a line were OK. But popups are trouble.”
“I grew up a Mets fan,” 3B David
Wright, raised in Norfolk, VA, home of the Mets AAA affiliate, told the New
York Times. “It’s great to be able to hopefully one day get that chance to
perform at Shea Stadium. I’ve dedicated myself to the game and to learning
third base. Hopefully, that’ll pay off.”
The Standings…
|
Team |
W |
L |
GB |
|
39 |
33 |
- |
|
|
37 |
33 |
1 |
|
|
35 |
36 |
3.5 |
|
|
33 |
38 |
5.5 |
|
|
24 |
46 |
14 |
Tonight’s Game…
Al Leiter will start for the Mets. In his only start against the Yankees last
season, Leiter was tagged for five runs in six innings while walking six in a
loss. This season, Leiter holds a
stellar 2.14 ERA, but is only 2-2.
Brad Halsey makes his second career start
tonight for the Yankees. The
23-year-old allowed two runs in 5.2 innings, looking a lot like Tom Glavine, in
his start against the Dodgers last Saturday.
Mike Piazza is hitting .364 (16-for-44) with
four homers and 10 RBIs in Yankee Stadium.
Since the inception of interleague play in
1997, the Yankees are 24-12 and winners of seven in a row against the
Mets. They are 13-5 since the teams met
in the 2000 World Series.
The News…
According to MLB.com, GM Jim Duquette stated
that Vance Wilson’s hamstring injury is more severe than the club thought. It appears Wilson will be out a lot longer
than originally anticipated.
OF Carlos Beltran was traded to Houston in a three-way
deal involving the Astros, Royals, and Athletics. Oakland acquired closer
Octavio Dotel. The Royals got prospects 3B Mark Teahen and RHP Mike Wood from
the A’s, as well as C John Buck from the Astros.
The Philadelphia Daily News reports that
Diamondbacks 2B Roberto Alomar, who recently lost his job to rookie Scott
Hairston, would like to be traded. “Hopefully, there’s somebody out
there,” Alomar said.
OF Karim Garcia was placed on the 15-day DL,
retroactive to Monday, with tendinitis in his left wrist. The Mets also activated RHP Orber Moreno from
the 15-day DL, recalled C Tom Wilson from Norfolk and designated OF Gerald
Williams for assignment.
Scott Erickson makes his fifth and final
start for AAA-Norfolk tonight. His
30-day rehab assignment is set to end Monday.
The veteran pitcher is 1-2, with a 7.20 ERA with the Tides.
The Notes…
Al Leiter has gone to a 3-2 count on 15
percent of the batters he has faced.
The Little Things…
Up in the count two balls to none, with two
runners on base and down four with Mike Piazza on deck, Mike Cameron swung at a
fastball off the plate by nearly a foot.
Why isn’t he taking a strike? Draw
a walk, Mike, put yourself in a position to maybe draw a walk, and give
Piazza, the best hitter on your club, a chance with the bases
loaded.
This habit is an addiction for most of the
Mets lineup, with particular attention paid to Kaz Matsui and Ty Wigginton. In fairness, it is a problem in all of
baseball, but I only care about the Mets.
Metsblog.com’s Take…
I’m tired of the Subway Series. I don’t know, maybe I’m still sore from the
loss in the World Series, or maybe I’m more envious of the Yankees than I
realize. I like to think it’s due to
perspective.
Metsblog.com has been preaching for nearly a
year now, that what is most important to the Mets occurs squarely in the
National League East, and not in the Bronx.
Ignore the Yankees fans; theoretically, they are meaningless in the
grand scheme of things – no more or less important to a Mets fan than the Devil
Rays, Royals or Tigers.
This weekend, however, this is not the
case. While they may be meaningless in
theory, in reality, a sweep this weekend could send the fans in a fury and the
media in a drooling tizzy, raining a beating upon the Mets clubhouse resulting
in more and more losses down the road.
I guess the Yankees do matter, but only
because of interleague play.
Question of the Day…
As a fan, is the financial gain worth it to
the Mets, as a team in the N.L. East, being forced to play the Yankees six
times a season?
“Little” Matsui Is Not That Little
By Bryan Bracey
The 2004 Baseball Prospectus project’s Kaz Matsui’s offensive numbers at: .281 average (AVG), a .339 on base percentage (OBP), and .465 slugging percentage (SLG). The Prospectus also notes, “paying $7 million a year for a player expected to produce around the low end of Tejada’s offensive range looks reasonable.” Currently, Matsui sits at .253, .328, and .381. To meet his OBP projection, he’ll need to have a .348 OBP for the rest of the season, which is doable. At his current pace, he’ll also finish with a solid 44 doubles and 23 steals.
One of the best metrics for offensive aptitude is runs created per 27 at-bats (RC/27), which basically quantifies what a batting order of only one player would produce in runs each night, according to that player’s current stats. For instance, if Barry Bonds could bat in every slot in the order, his fictitious team would score 19.74 runs per game. A batting order of only Neifi Perez would score just 2.06 runs per game. Currently, Matsui ranks thirteenth among Major League shortstops with an RC/27 of 4.63, ahead of fellow highly touted rookie Khalil Greene, 4.55, perennial All-star Edgar Renteria, 4.35, potential All-star starter Adam Everett, 4.32, and the “almighty” Derek Jeter, 4.29.
Defensively, Matsui has been mediocre, but not terrible. Though 15 errors are a lot, a few of them have been on throws that a better defensive first baseman would likely have helped out with. Miguel Tejada, a well-respected defender, has 11 errors with Rafael Palmeiro playing first. Wiz-kid Khalil Greene has 12. Matsui’s range factor, which states how many balls per game a player contributes to an out on, is 4.51 – again, ahead of Renteria, 4.48, Greene, 4.29, and Everett, 4.42, as well Omar Vizquel, 4.42. In fairness, Matsui’s zone rating, which measures the percentage of balls fielded by a player in his typical defensive “zone”, is worst in the majors at .791. Moreover, his range factor and errors may be artificially high. The team’s pitching staff ranks last in the league in strikeouts so the field is getting an abundance of outs – Matsui included, as he leads National League in chances for shortstops.
Therefore, it appears that Matsui is getting a bad wrap for the following reasons:
- Strikeouts draw particular attention to a player. Considering he is not a big home run hitter, fans can’t stand the strikeouts.
- His high error total is an overrated statistic that draws more attention to a failure than success – much like the strikeouts.
- Ichiro is so good that Japanese players will always be compared to him for the foreseeable future. To make matter worse, Ichiro, although great, is an overrated offensive player and a decently overrated defender making the shadow that much bigger.
- Jose Reyes, despite his shortcomings, is such a fan-favorite that it would have to take a special player to move him from his position. Nevertheless, Reyes still projects to be a better defender and the two have comparable offensive upsides.
- The base running gaffe against the Reds was a mistake, but I’ll cut him a break. He probably had seen and heard that Ken Griffey Jr. can do some special things in center field and figured he should at least make sure to get to third, so not to get booed, again. He also probably thought that, with his speed, that he could still score from second if it dropped, and it took a perfect hop off the wall and two bullets to throw him out. The speed of the American game has been an issue for Matsui and he’ll adjust. New York football Giant fans will need to keep this in mind, as well, when Eli Manning is throwing more passes to the Eagles than to Big Blue.
- Mistakes in the Big Apple get blown that much more out of proportion.
A Japanese friend explained to me how difficult it is entering a new country with your family, and the inability to speak the language. It is probably much worse in New York and in a high-profile sport’s market. Give him some time and give him a break. He hasn’t been that bad.
According to BaseballProspectus.com, the Mets are currently fifth in Defensive Efficiency, so they have been solid defensively despite the errors and the perception of Matsui. Reyes’s return should only help. Matsui initially made it clear that he wanted a “shot” to play shortstop. Reyes is a better defender and I think that Matsui knows it. The errors help that cause. The result may be Matsui willingly moving his underrated yet productive offensive skill set to second base while Reyes shifts back to shortstop, eventually. Though Matsui is slumping, he will get better.
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Metsblog’s
Matthew Cerrone speaks with Jeff Pearlman, author of The Bad Guys Won:
A season of brawling, boozing, bimbo chasing and championship baseball
with the 1986 New York Mets. The Bad Guys Won is the definitive read on the 1986 Mets, and can be purchased at www.thebadguyswon.com or at www.amazon.com.
To listen to the interview, click Play on the audio player below…
The Game…
Richard Hidalgo’s RBI single in the eighth inning scored Mike Piazza to tie the game at 4. Four innings
later, Sean Casey hit his second two-run homer of the game off of John Franco, giving the Reds a 6-4 victory over the New York Mets last night. Jae Seo allowed four runs and eight hits in five innings.
Today’s Game…
Tom Glavine pitches for the Mets today, in an effort to keep the team from falling, again, below the .500 mark. Glavine’s 2.07 ERA is the best in baseball, yet he has only one win to show for his last five starts.
Ex-Met Cory Lidle, 4-5, with a 5.29 ERA, takes the hill for the Reds. Mike Cameron is hitting .389 (7-for-18) against Lidle with a pair of homers for his career.
The Quote…
“There is no frustration,” Matsui said. “It’s just unfortunate. I feel that more. I haven’t been hitting much lately and the fans here are strict, they have a good eye.”
The Standings…
| Team | W | L | GB |
| Marlins | 39 | 32 | - |
| Phillies | 37 | 32 | 1 |
| Mets | 35 | 35 | 3.5 |
| Braves | 32 | 38 | 6.5 |
| Expos | 23 | 46 | 15 |
The News…
RHP Orber Moreno and RHP Scott Strickland, struggled in rehab outings for Class-A St. Lucie. Moreno has allowed six runs and eight hits in 1 2/3 rehab innings.
Scott Erickson will make his final rehab start at Triple-A Norfolk on Friday before the Mets make a decision on his future. If he is not added to the Mets 25-man roster by Monday of next week, they will be forced to release him. Erickson has a 7.20 in five Triple-A starts.
OF Karim Garcia was unavailable to play in last night’s game due to an achy left wrist. Garcia is
hitting just .238 on the year. Steve Trachsel served as pinch-hitter in the 11th inning because Garcia was not available.
The Notes…
Prentice Redman is hitting .366 (15-for-41) with five RBIs in 11 games at AAA-Norfolk.
The Mets have Al Leiter (2-2, 2.14), Trachsel (7-5, 3.44) and Matt Ginter (1-1, 3.38) lined up for the three-game series in Yankee Stadium.
The Mets are 7-3 in extra innings this season.
The Mets have the highest stolen-base percentage in baseball, an 80.8% success rate, 42-for-52.
An official of one team that inquired about trading for SP Barry Zito told ESPN’s Jayson Stark, “As of last night, they’re not trading Barry Zito.” At least not during the season, Stark added.
Metsblog.com’s Take…
More or less every major New York newspaper runs an article this morning criticizing SS Kaz Matsui.
I’ve defended Kaz, pretty regularly, here at Metsblog. My fear, however, is that Matsui is rather close to becoming an official problem. Last night, WFAN’s Joe Benigno went as far as to call Matsui, “The new Roger Cedeno.”
Ouch.
The situation, from last night’s game, that resulted in the Shea crowd booing and the media spewing, came with Kaz on second, Jose Reyes on first, one out and the Mets down two in the fifth inning with Mike Piazza at the plate. Piazza slammed a deep fly ball to center, over the head of a hard-running Griffey. The ball bounced off the base of the wall, Kaz hesitated and then started back to second, looking for Griffey to make the catch. Once realizing it was time to run, Kaz tagged and took off. Third base coach Matt Galante waved him in. Griffey short-hopped the ball off the wall, chucked a relay to D’Angelo Jimenez, who then threw out the very fast Matsui sliding in at the plate.
Winning baseball games is always about the little things. Knowing when to tag, when to go half way down the baseline, when to charge a ground ball, when to lay back, and so on, are part of a series of fundamentals that are taught as far back as Little League. Time and time again, however, Kaz appears unaware of these basic skills.
For instance, running down the third base line, he actually turned his head to look over his shoulder, hoping to see whereabouts the throw was.
What’s the difference, Kaz? Run. Just run, man.
“He went back to tag up,” manager Art Howe told reporters after the game. “With one out, you should be halfway.”
Kaz remarked, “Griffey chased the ball pretty well and I didn’t know what kind of play it was going to be…I was thinking I was going to tag up if he did catch the ball. I might have been closer to second base. Maybe I should have been closer to third base.”
For $7 million a year, and two more to go, and several seasons of professional baseball under his 28-year-old belt, there should be no “maybes.”
Later in the game, with runners on first and third, one out, and a tie game in the bottom of the 11th inning. Kaz started off with a 3-0 count, but ended up striking out on a pitch in the dirt, spinning from his heels. The crowd began to boo Cedeno-style.
“I’ve just got to believe in myself,” Kaz added, “hopefully one day can turn it around and make them
happy.”
Let’s hope it is one day soon.
For what it’s worth, the Expos’ attempts to re-sign SS Orlando Cabrera have fallen apart. According to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, they are now telling clubs that if they can’t get Cabrera signed by early July, they’ll likely trade him. The 29-year-old Cabrera is a former Gold Glove winner. Though he is struggling this season, he batted .297 last year with 18 homers and 24 stolen bases.
Question for the fans…
What do the Mets do with Kaz Matsui?
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Poll…
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 Midday Notes… According to the Chicago Tribune, White Sox general manager Ken Williams denied published reports that contract talks with Ordonez and his representatives have ended. “The door is not closed,” Williams said. “It’s not closed on our part and it’s not closed on his part.” Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he isn’t planning any major roster shakeups, which includes trading SP Kris Benson. Royals GM Allard Baird appeared on ESPN 1050’s Michael Kay show this morning. Baird says he will only accept a package that nets him both a young third baseman and catcher in exchange for OF Carlos Beltran. If he doesn’t receive adequate compensation, however, he will just as soon not trade Beltran and, instead, comfortably accept his compensatory first round draft pick, which he will receive when Beltran leaves as a free agent at the end of the season.
