Daily Archives: June 1, 2005
First…
Move David Wright up in the batting order…
I’m all for paying respect where respect is due, so I understand it could offend the veterans or negatively embolden the young Wright by batting him ahead of a few proven All-Stars. However, facts are facts. The kid is the best hitter on the team…
I know the Mets front-office thinks ‘Next Year is Now,’ but, actually, ‘Next Year is Next Year,’ and nothing would help strengthen Wright than batting him where he deserves to be. If Mike Piazza and Cliff Floyd can’t handle this, tell them to start hitting with runners in scoring position and it will become a non-issue…
Most things in life are not nearly as complicated as we make them out to be. This is one of them. Bat the kid third or fourth, as I suggested in an editorial prior to spring training, by the way…
Next…
Leave Jose Reyes in the leadoff spot…
I’m beyond tired of reading my fellow bloggers talk about how detrimental Reyes’s lack of on base percentage is, or writing that batting ahead of the pitcher is the only place he is qualified to be. This is ridiculous. Do you guys actually watch the games you are critiquing? Reyes is a tremendous talent. His lack of walks is a problem, but with any amount of perspective it’s a minor problem at best…
At only 21-years-old he’s performed like an average National League shortstop. This is actually a good thing. I agree, this is not good enough for a championship caliber club, especially coming from the leadoff spot. However, this team isn’t totally built to win now…
Let the kid play. Let him learn. Let him get a feel for the game. Technically, he’s only played roughly two seasons of professional baseball higher than Class AA. Cut him some slack…
And yet, given all of this, he’s one of the most exciting players to watch in all of baseball. Stop worrying about what he isn’t, and enjoy what he is…
As it stands, at his age, not drawing walks, and hitting nowhere near what he is capable of, he’ll likely score close to 100 runs this season. Give the kid a chance…
Third…
The Mets must field their best pitching staff…
Yesterday, I wrote a little about the economic term ‘sunk costs,’ when discussing the present and future of Kaz Matsui. Well, the same applies to the bullpen…
Like it or not, whether pitching good, bad, here, in Norfolk or in Siberia, Mike DeJean, Manny Aybar and Dae-Sung Koo will be getting their $2 million combined salaries. Now, I understand that both Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph hoped to observe these guys in action to accurately determine what their true utility is. But, what I want to know is, how come Randolph and Minaya are the last two to realize these three are not that good…
Don’t get me wrong, they’re good. Just not good enough. And not nearly as good as Aaron Heilman, Jae Seo and Heath Bell, and most likely Royce Ring…
Speaking of Heilman, there is no justifiable reason for having the team’s third best performing starting pitcher never starting and only throwing on occasion from the bullpen. A similar case could be made for Seo…
I know there are contract situations, and market variables, and so on and so on, that preclude guys like DeJean, Aybar and Koo from being demoted, released or traded. The thing is, I don’t care. When better players are behind them on the depth chart, it all just sounds like administrative babble…
Play your best players…
Please…
Lastly…
As the July 31 trade deadline approaches, don’t trade the future…unless it’s for a 27-year-old lefty who has already won a Cy Young Award…
I’m sure I will love Yusmeiro Petit, or Lastings Milledge, or even Victor Diaz when they all reach their full potential. However, young, proven, left-handed pitchers, like Barry Zito, do not grow on trees, or even hit the free agent market all that often…
Petit may very well be the next Greg Maddux. Milledge could end up being what Darryl Strawberry should’ve been. When Diaz becomes the next Manny Ramirez, I’ll be quite happy for him. However, I’ll take the mature, smart, established, left-handed Cy Young winner every single time. No questions asked. If you’ve been watching the last decade or so, teams win with pitching and defense, not potential, especially at Shea…
I’m all for a youth movement. And I know some fans get quite attached to these prospects who they’ve never actually seen play and whom rarely fulfill their potential. But, when a chance to acquire a guy like Zito comes along, you overpay to get him…
Would you trade Philip Humber? No, I wouldn’t. Why? Because he reminds me of Zito. Would you trade Humber for Zito? Not if I don’t have to. Will Zito be available? If he were not named Zito and making a ton of money, with more to come, he’d probably have been released by now. His stock is plummeting and so are the A’s. The more games the A’s lose, the better the odds Zito gets moved…
And if the Mets are smart, they’ll pounce on this golden opportunity…and with it, exorcise the Ghost of Kazmir…
Willie Randolph talks to reporters following his team’s 2-1 win against the DBacks at Shea…
(total run time: 3:24)
Following tonight’s win against the DBacks, Mets GM Omar Minaya informed the media LHP Felix Heredia and RHP Bartolome Fortunato will each have season-ending surgery tomorrow…
According to Minaya, Heredia will have an aneurysm surgically repaired…an injury that was only recently discovered by doctors…
Fortunato, acquired last July from in the Scott Kazmir deal to Tampa Bay, will have surgery on a herniated disc in his lower back…
Minaya concluded his briefing by saying, “It’s pretty safe to say they’ll be out for the year.”…
…it’s nice to finally exhale…wow…
…all night, my girlfriend kept asking me why i was so antsy watching victor zambrano…she asked, ‘i don’t get it, it’s the eighth inning, and he hasn’t allowed a run…what else do you want him to do.’…
…she just doesn’t understand…
…it occurred to me, though, while trying to explain what zambrano is all about, that i am a hypocrite…
…here i am questioning scouts and minor league experts about brian bannister, because as they tell me he lacks ‘stuff,’ i simply say to them that ‘the proof is in the pudding’…if he wins, and keeps the other team from scoring, that’s ‘stuff’ enough for me…
…well, why am i not saying the same about zambrano…
…he’s now allowed three runs or less in eight of his last nine starts…his era is 1.71 over his last 17 innings pitched…
…i think, at least for a few more starts, he has earned a little slack…but, i still think he’s Houdini…
…oh, and jose reyes did just fine tonight without a walk…again…
…smile fans, this was a game we lost last season…enjoy…
The Game…
The Mets (26–26) take on the Diamondbacks (30–22) in the second of a three-game series continuing tonight at Shea Stadium…
RHP Victor ‘Houdini’ Zambrano (2–5, 4.74) starts for the Mets…Why Houdini? Because, despite allowing nearly two runners on base per inning, and seeing batters hit .270 against him, Zambrano has magically allowed three earned runs of fewer in seven of his eight starts…Though this is Zambrano’s first career start against Arizona, he has faced their best hitter, Troy Glaus, from their days in the American League…Glaus is 2–for-11 against Zambrano with a homer and four strike outs…all other DBacks who have faced Zambrano are hitless against him for their careers…
RHP Brandon Webb (6–1, 3.39) takes the hill for the DBacks…Webb is a simple pitcher, working predominantly with a strong two-seam fastball, a change-up and a traditional curve…Against Webb for their careers, Carlos Beltran is batting .429, Miguel Cairo and Mike Cameron are each batting .667 and Mike Piazza is 2–for-6…
The Good…
The Mets bullpen has allowed just 20 percent of inherited runs to score, tops in the National League…
The Mets are 17–12 when they don’t make an error…
The Bad…
The Mets are 3–15 when they are outhit by their opponents…
The Question…
Where is Braden Looper? I’m starting to forget what he looks like…he’s pitched in only three of the team’s last 13 games…
In his weekly radio interview with WFAN, Mets manager Willie Randolph talked quite extensively on a number of topics…
Randolph told the radio show’s hosts that he is committed to Doug Mientkiewicz, ‘for the most part,’ but understands that his first baseman needs to ‘pick it up’ offensively. Randolph did say that when his team faces a tough lefty, such as Shawn Estes, as they will tomorrow night, Chris Woodward will start…
…i can handle this, but i would not make a habit of pulling doug’s glove from that infield…we all know how that story will go…
Randolph also said he’s committed to pitching Dae-Sung Koo against left-handed hitters and will continue to bat Mike Piazza no lower than fifth in the lineup…
…i believe this is known as being myopic…
When asked what Aaron Heilman’s roll is, Randolph said he was a ‘jack of all trades.’…
…in other words, what jeff nelson was to joe torre in the late 90’s, heilman is to randolph today…
Based on Randolph’s fumbling of words, it sounds to me like second base is currently Miguel Cairo’s job to lose. Randolph also noted that he has talked to Cairo about the second baseman’s addiction to bunting. ‘I’ve addressed it,’ Randolph said…
Lastly, in talking about the learning curve of Jose Reyes, Randolph described his young shortstop’s main fault as being a lack of constant focus, noting he must remain smart on every pitch in every game. However, he says, Reyes learns very well, retains everything he is told and is a ‘good kid.’…
…to catch the full audio of randolph’s interview, keep checking the audio archive page at wfan.com…
Ted Robinson takes some time between broadcasting games for MSG, and sits down at his computer to type out three critical choices to be made by Willie Randolph, including the decision to play Miguel Cairo over Kaz Matsui, whether to put Carlos Beltran on the disabled list and where to bat Mike Piazza in the team’s lineup…
…also, in the sidebar of the msg page, they ask readers, who is your ‘favorite met to wear no. four.’…51 percent said lenny dykstra, 36 percent said robin ventura and 13 percent said ron swoboda…
NY Sports Day’s Joe McDonald recently talked with WFAN’s Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen, the ‘Voice of the Mets.’…
Cohen tells McDonald…
“I never aspired to do anything next and this is what I always wanted to do…I did a lot of national games, but I got everything I want right here.”…
…outstanding…
…and he’s certainly earned it, he’s one of best, if not the best, in the business…
…Joe Zwierzynski, financial analyst by day, minor league
obervationalist by night, offers up the following scouting report on
B-Mets RHP Brian Bannister, after attending the B-Mets game against
Trenton on Friday, May 27…
…Zwierzynski writes…
While
attending the Binghamton Mets game against the Trenton Thunder last
Friday night, I had the pleasure of meeting a scout assigned to follow
the Mets organization. This scout was extremely helpful and
honest and has helped to enhance my scouting report on Brian
Bannister. I would like to publicly thank him – he said he wanted
to check this site out on a regular basis when I told him of the
content – as he was the easiest scout to talk to that I’ve ever met…
Brian Bannister…
Bannister
took to the mound versus Trenton sporting numbers that were dominant, a
6-1 record and a sub 2.00 ERA. Bannister throws between 87-89 mph
consistently and touched 90 mph once…maybe twice. His four-seam
fastball is straight, but he locates it well. It is an average
pitch, at best, due to its lack of velocity…
Bannister’s best
pitch is his cut fastball. It comes in at about 85-86 mph with
late movement. He used it well against hitters from both sides of
the plate. His changeup is decent, and compliments his other
pitches very well. It doesn’t fade very much, but with it being
80 mph, it does its job…
His two breaking pitches – a curveball
and slider – need quite a bit of refinement, with the slider possibly
being scrapped altogether. The curve has a ’10 to 4′ break, and
it isn’t sharp and he never threw it for a strike – though, I’ve read
that he usually does. Its an average pitch if he throws it for
strikes, and nothing more than a throwaway pitch if he can’t. His
slider doesn’t move sharply and is flat. With his curve
not working, though, I’d prefer it over the slider…
The
unidentified scout thought Bannister could be a backend guy in the
Major Leagues at best. There is, however, a decent chance
Bannister could get to the Majors because of his confidence, overall
command, pedigree, and ability to throw different pitches to keep
hitters from sitting on his fastball, the scout said. And I agree…
However,
with the nature of the Mets organization, I wouldn’t give Bannister
much of a chance to ever pitch at Shea on a regular basis. He
might be a backend guy somewhere else, of course. I could see him
moving to Norfolk for a year and becoming an emergency call up, but
currently he has Jae Seo and Aaron Heilman, who are better and also
more experienced, ahead of him…
If Bannister is used in a trade this summer, it wouldn’t upset me at all…
Tagged
Minors |
Many of my readers have labeled ESPN’s Buster Olney as being anti-Mets. I disagree. I find his work to be painfully honest, and it is simply rubbing Mets fans against the grain..
Today, he is sure to entice Mets fans again, as Olney blogs about Mike Piazza, writing…
Piazza walks everywhere…Piazza walks out to his position; he walks back to the dugout. Not in a steady amble, either; it’s a slow my-knees-are-killing-me or oh-man-do-I-have-to-catch-another-inning stroll…It’s probably the wear and tear of catching for almost two decades; Piazza is 36 and playing baseball’s most brutal position. Maybe years of playing amid stardom and expectations in New York have worn him out. He just doesn’t look like he’s having any fun whatsoever…
Olney concludes…
Maybe he deserves a pass. Maybe he doesn’t…Piazza’s been a great player for a long time. No matter the case, he’s finishing his time with the Mets in slow motion…
…again, i couldn’t agree with Olney more…
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