Daily Archives: June 1, 2005
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…
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…
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…
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…
For starters, I believe it is important for us to understand that this team is not ready to win a World Championship just yet. Could they get there this season by accident? Well, I suppose, I mean, anything can happen, and I’d be thrilled if it did. But, as far as structure and focus goes, this team is only slightly through what I see as a three phase plan…
Phase one being the deconstruction of the Pre-Minaya Era, which is the departure of any players who had a personal connection with John Franco and Al Leiter…
Phase two being the acquisition and cohesion of new blood, be it from the ripening of the farm system or players signed through free agency. Bringing these new faces in is not enough. The most vital part of this phase is letting these guys play together, learn one another’s habits, make mistakes, respect each other and themselves and know what it’s like to succeed in New York…
Phase three being the addition of any missing piece to the puzzle, be it a front end starting pitcher or a left-handed bat off the bench. Regardless of it’s importance, these acquisitions not only add versatility and credibility, they tell the current players the administration believes in their ability to succeed and is doing everything it can for the team’s final push…
That being said, what we are watching now is the Mets slowly moving simultaneously through phases one and two…
Today, the Mets can help this process along while continuing to play fun and exciting baseball by doing the following…
Per the request of several fans, I spent yesterday afternoon blogging my thoughts on the state of the Mets. For those who missed it, I blogged about Willie Randolph, starting Miguel Cairo over Kaz Matsui and Jeff Keppinger, Doug Mientkiewicz, my adoration for David Wright, the realities of Mike Piazza, the strengths and weaknesses of the outfield, Randolph’s reasoning for giving so many days off, the pivot point of the starting rotation and the need to wait out the bullpen…
It was an exhausting five hour effort…
Last night, more email arrived asking what I’d do with this team going forward, if I had the wheel. Instead of blabbing for five hours, I’ll offer it up in a few quick posts…
When asked whether Miguel Cairo is now his official starting second baseman, instead of Kaz Matsui, Willie Randolph told reporters that night in and night out he simply plays the guy who gives his team the best chance to win…
“Miguel is playing well,” he added. “I put guys out there who are playing well.”…
…word…great philosophy…
…however, willie, could you apply the same logic to the way you structure your batting order, too…
For those looking to lament last night’s loss a little longer, Peter Botte recaps the Mets failed scoring opportunities in today’s Daily News, writing…
1st inning: Jose Reyes doubles and goes to third on Miguel Cairo‘s bunt, but doesn’t come home as Carlos Beltran lines out and Mike Piazza strikes out…
2nd inning: Mike Cameron singles and steals second with one out, but stays there as David Wright and Doug Mientkiewicz whiff…
3rd inning: Reyes and Cairo single with one out and pull off a double steal, but Beltran fans for second out. After Piazza walks to load bases, Cliff Floyd grounds out to end inning…
5th inning: Once again, Reyes and Cairo string together one-out singles, but Beltran and Piazza pop out to end threat…
…i think it’s officially time for willie randolph to stop refering to mike piazza, cliff floyd and mike cameron as ‘the big boys’ in his lineup…
David Lennon writes in Newsday that Ramon Castro is likely to come off the disabled list tomorrow…
…mike difelice is 0–for-8 in six games during castro’s absence as the mets resident back-up catcher…he was unable to throw out the one runner to steal on him…
As the summer progresses and the weather gets hotter, Piazza will need more days off. Word around the Blue-n-Orange campfire is that the Mets are uneasy about going with either DeFelice or Castro as the back-up to Piazza…
…for what it’s worth, benito santiago is a free agent…i’m not sure bringing in an aging veteran to be insurance for an aging veteran is the way to go, though…
