Monthly Archives: March 2005
John Donovan of Sports Illustrated ranks Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran sixth and seventh, respectively, on a shortlist of recent free-agent acquisitions who are under pressure to come up big this season…
I guess I agree. I wanted to refute this, trying to come up with some clever counter-argument, but there isn’t one. I mean, Piazza, Glavine, Looper and so on, are vital to the Mets success, it is true – however, considering the money the Mets are paying Martinez and Beltran, and the talent and significance they play in their rolls, without them, the Mets are toast…
For those wishing the Mets will bring in more people to help complicate the bullpen situation, the Yankees told LHP Buddy Groom he will start at AAA. Groom, a 13-year veteran on a non-roster contract, can opt to become a free-agent if he is not on a Major League club by May 1.
According to the New York Times, he intends to sign with a another team as soon as he can.
Having combed the newspapers and talking with friends who cover the team, I’m laying the following odds on each reliever making the Mets final 25-man roster…
RHP Braden Looper: no action…
RHP Mike DeJean: no action…
RHP Matt Ginter: 1 to 1…
LHP Felix Heredia: 1 to 1 if the team takes 12 pitchers…
LHP Mike Matthews: 2 to 1…
RHP Roberto Hernandez: 2 to 1…
LHP Dae-Sung Koo: 3 to 1…
RHP Manny Aybar: 20 to 1…
RHP Jose Santiago: 50 to 1…
LHP Felix Heredia: 50 to 1 if the team takes 11 pitchers…
RHP Heath Bell – 100 to 1…RHP Bartolome Fortunato – 100 to 1…
This would mean, should the Mets take 11 pitchers, the safest bet would be putting Looper, DeJean, Hernandez, Ginter, Matthews and Koo on the team’s bullpen. With 12 pitchers, simply add Heredia….
Do you agree…
Kaz Ishii will make his official Mets debut today when taking on his former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, at Tradition Field…
I will provide an inGame Notebook, starting at 12:10 PM EST.
With the option of sending Heath Bell to AAA, Newsday and the Star-Ledger each suggest the Mets are unlikely to carry Bell on their Major League roster when camp breaks next week, despite Bell holding hitters to a .174 AVG, and posting a 2.31 ERA in seven relief appearances, while striking out 11 with only one walk…
It’s a numbers game, kid. You’ll be back. Most likely sooner than later…
Adam Rubin of the Daily News notes the following on Marlins LHP Al Leiter…
In his last start, Leiter walked Albert Pujols and Scott Rolen with the bases loaded, while allowing six third-inning runs against the Cardinals. He’s walked 13 batters in 16 innings, leading Marlins manager Jack McKeon to declare the free passes must stop once the season starts…
Hehe…
The Miami Herald describes the rumored deal that would send Tigers OF Bobby Higginson to the Marlins as ‘dead.’ Yesterday, the Palm Beach Post suggested the Mets had interest in Higginson, as well…
However, the Daily News sites a Mets official as saying they have no interest in Higginson.
Don Burke of the Star-Ledger writes that Willie Randolph informed his players they must wear a sport coats, slacks and shoes when traveling with the team. Upon arrival, players may go “casual” and wear “nice jeans.”
The Daily News unrolls its 2005 Baseball Preview. It is quite extensive, featuring a series of intriguing articles… Of note… John Harper breaks down the media-driven, back-page rivalry between the Mets and their cross-town, in-an entirely-different-league brethren, the Yankees… Adam Rubin reviews each position, as he scouts the 2005 Mets, while predicting the club will finish fourth in a crowded and competitive division… Bill Madden reviews the entire National League East, picking the Marlins as the division winners. The best part of the article, though, is the drawing of Tim Hudson by Ed Murawinski… The best of the bunch is Rubin’s look at Wilpon’s ‘Return on Investment,’ breaking down the ‘new Mets’ from the view out of the team’s owner’s wallet…
According to Adam Rubin of the Daily News, who is quickly becoming ‘czar of the tidbit,’ Omar Minaya was rudely treated by Devil Rays GM Chuck LaMar when he asked about Danys Baez. Rubin goes on to write: Minaya, who purportedly offered to deal Cliff Floyd for Baez, was bluntly told the Mets had no players who interested the Rays…
Or is it because LaMar’s previously successful Mets Jedi Mind Trick no longer works on the skilled Minaya? Hmmm…
