Daily Archives: June 29, 2005
…ouch…
…a few thoughts…
…after watching mike cameron run-down a ball that was basically in center field in the third inning, it makes me think i may be right when i said this spring that the mets should consider playing cameron in right-center, carlos beltran in left-center, while having cliff floyd play the roamer position used in softball…i’m kidding, of course…though it probably could work…
…with a left-handed pitcher and a righty at the plate, mike piazza still can’t throw a runner out…unreal…
…i still can’t believe in a year when i’m being told ‘next year is now,’ that i just watched jose offerman hit a home run for the mets…it’s like ‘ten years ago is now.’…
…ishii-ishterrible…yikes…
…commenting on the positioning of dae sung-koo’s feet on the mound prior to his delivery, keith hernandez and fran healy had the following exchange…‘and that’s an ugly show,’ hernandez said…to which healy noted the batter’s count…‘high tops,’ hernandez remaked, ‘he’s wearing high tops,’…to which healy remarked, like a fashion expert, ‘oh yeah, this has been fashionable a few years now in baseball.’…
…that kill me, man…absolutly crack me up…
…have a good night, kids…see you in the morning…
Appearing on MSG’s SportsDesk, following tonight’s Mets game, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman stated that the Yankees are now saying the Mets came to them with the Gary Sheffield-for-Mike Cameron trade, and that they declined it…
…obviously this is an attempt by the yankees to calm down sheffield, who was quite vocal about the rumor with reporters earlier this evening…
Mets GM Omar Minaya told reporters prior to tonight’s game that the rumor is completely untrue…
…which sounds about right…
The Game…
The Mets (38–38) look to take the second of a three games that continues against the Phillies (39–38) at Shea Stadium tonight … the Mets have won four of their last five games … the Phillies have lost a season-high five straight games…
The Pitchers…
LHP Kaz Ishii (2–6, 5.25) starts for the Mets … Ishii has allowed eight runs to the Phillies this season in 11.2 innings pitched … Last week in Philadelphia he allowed three runs on six hits while walking two in 6.2 innings … Ishii is batting .313 in 16 at-bats …
RHP Cory Lidle (6–6, 4.12) starts for the Phillies … Last week against the Mets, Lidle allowed four earned runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings in a loss … the Phillies are 8–4 in his last 12 starts … the Phillies have committed 34 percent of their errors when Lidle is on the mound …
The Notes…
The Mets are 25–27 against right-handed starting pitchers … they are 13–25 when their opponent scores first … they are 20–6 when their starter goes more than seven innings … Mike Cameron has not hit a home run since June 4 … Brian Daubach is 0–for-6 with runners in scoring position … Chris Woodward is batting .375 in 40 at-bats against right-handed pitchers … Danny Graves has yet to pitch with an inherited runner on base … in their last 42 games, the Phillies are batting .313 with runners in scoring position … the Phillies are 0–31 when trailing at the end of the seventh inning…
The Reminder…
Cliff Floyd will host this week’s episode of This Week in Baseball, which will air on FOX before the Mets-Marlins game this Saturday, July 2, at 12:30 PM EDT…
To chat during the game, go to MetsBlog’s Bleachers…or, to access the chat room through IRC, go to server name irc.echo34.com and channel #metsblog…
…enjoy…
Gary Sheffield spoke quite extensively with the media from the Yankees clubhouse a few moments ago…
…to listen to sheffield’s comments, click the play button below…
…this audio file runs roughly four minutes…
Of note…
“It don’t make a difference who it is,” Sheffield told reporters about possibly playing for a new team. He continued, “If I didn’t choose to go there, things are gonna have to change about my whole situation, contract, years, everything. Other than that, you might as well not bother trading for me, cause you’re gonna have a very unhappy player. You gonna inconvenience me, I’m gonna inconvenience every situation there is. I mean, the only reason I’m playing is ‘cause I wanna play for the Yankees.”…
When asked by a reporter if that means he would sit out if traded, Sheffield responded, “No, I would never sit out. I’ll go play, but that don’t mean I’m gonna be happy playing…and if I ain’t happy you don’t want me playing on your team…and that’s just the way it goes…that’s life.”…
Specifically regarding the possibility of playing for the Mets, Sheffield said, “Don’t ask about me, I’m not interested in driving to any other stadium, period. I love Omar Minaya, I love him. I mean, I think he’s a great guy. But this is more personal than anything. This ain’t got nothing to do with him, it’s more personal.”…
…wow…
…um…on second thought…i’ll pass thank you…
…i hope omar was listening…
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice talked to New Yorkers yesterday at a rally to bolster support for the NYC 2012 Olympics bid…
Standing to Rice’s side was none other than our favorite mascot…
…i don’t know whether to laugh or cry at this photo…i mean, i’d like to think her time would be better spent talking with ariel sharon and mahmoud abbas, than it is doing press junkets with mr. met, but maybe i am wrong…
MetsFan’s Gail Carelli headed out to Columbus to check in on the visiting Norfolk Tides last night…
Amongst several interesting observations, Gail notes, “For one, Tides relief pitching is a heck of a lot worse than the Mets,” and, “I was also very impressed with Anderson Hernandez…He ended up going two for five with a stolen base and two runs scored.”…
…i agree on hernandez…
…a few people have emailed me asking why the mets have not promoted him to play second base at shea…i think the answer is that he has just not shown enough consistency at the plate to warrant a promotion…he’s young and just starting to get a handle at the plate…to risk ruining that is not worth the limited upside he would bring to the mets at this point…
…as the trade deadline approaches, i will begin doing a little more research on the mets system, talking with scott lauber and the gang at baseball america, as well as reps from both binghamton and norfolk, so hopefully i can get a more ‘expert’ read on hernandez in the coming weeks…
Tagged Minors |Kevin Goldstein has published the most recent Prospect Hot Sheet at Baseball America. Checking in at No. 11 is B-Mets RHP Brian Bannister…
“Bannister has been the model of consistency, allowing less than two earned runs in 11 of 15 starts,” writes Goldstein. “Stepping up in the clutch has kept the ERA down, as opposing batters are just 1-for-22 against Bannister with runners in scoring position and two outs.”…
…don’t expect bannister to make the list next week, though…
Last night in Binghamton, Bannister allowed a season high seven runs over 4.1 innings pitched, dropping his record to 9–2 and raising his ERA to 2.20…
“Baseball’s a humbling game,” Bannister told Scott Lauber of the Press & Sun Bulletin following the loss. “You know, I never expected to have this much success. You always expect to have little bumps. The best thing you can do is go out the next time and pretend it never happened.”…
Suns RHP Gaby Hernandez makes Goldstein’s Team Photo, i.e., players doing well, but not well-enough to make the ultimate list…
Tagged Minors |
…this sheffield-for-cameron rumor is hot-n-heavy, to say the least…to get a yankees perspective, i had a quick instant message session with alex belth, the writer of baseball toaster’s bronx banter blog…
BronxBanter: I think the trade would be nuts from the Yankees perspective though. I like Cameron, and he’d sure help the Yanks out, but they just can’t replace Sheff’s bat…
MetsBlog: I just dont see why they wouldn’t, instead, get a guy like Encarnacion, and keep Sheffield, you know…
BronxBanter: As they used to say in the cartoons, “If Woody had gone straight to the police, none of this would have ever happened.” Well, the common refrain amongst Yankee fans this year is “If the Yanks had just signed Carlos Beltran, none of this would have ever happened.”…
MetsBlog: Great cartoon, by the way…
Alex Belth: It has been depressing to see Bernie struggle so much. And it was preventable. But that’s what you get when you have a management team with opinions coming from all over the place…
MetsBlog: has Sheffiled become a headache lately off-the-field?…
BronxBanter: I don’t think so. I mean, the guy is nuts, but he’s been a model citizen from what I’ve heard. But he’s like Pedro, although much less charismatic: good on a winning team, sour and ugly on a losing one…
MetsBlog: he’s just expendable i guess in that offense really hast been their problem…
BronxBanter: Well, it’s either him, Posada, Flash or Matsui…
MetsBlog: Frankly, I cant see the Mets taking on that much money, and I cant see the Boss helping the Mets out financially under any circumstance…
BronxBanter: Yeah, especially since Sheff was a Boss signing. I think they could live with getting rid of Matsui or Flash–though I like them both, especially Godzilla, but even though their value is high, Posada and Sheff would be difficult to replace…
MetsBlog: they cant move hideki for marketing reasons i would think…
BronxBanter: I think you are probably right…
MetsBlog: well, you can have kaz matsui if you feel you’ve got to have a japanese player on your team…
BronxBanter: Nah…
MetsBlog: Oh well, I tried. Anyway, this rumor makes just enough sense to sound nice, but if you stop and give it thought, financially, and with guys like Pierre or Kotsay possibly around, It loses credibility, i think…
BronxBanter: Cameron seems like a really aimable guy too…
MetsBlog: he is. thats the other thing, that clubhouse loves him. he’s everyone best friend…seems odd they’d want to swap that with sheffield…
BronxBanter: Particularly if Sheff makes it clear that he’s none too pleased about being there…
MetsBlog: my guess is this was discussed by the Mets and Yanks, as it should be, and could be revisited but is not at all as imminent as these writers have made it…
BronxBanter: Exactly…
MetsBlog: so, to sum it up, Yankees fans are for or against this rumored deal? from what you can tell?..
BronxBanter: From what I gather in our comments section this morning, they are dead set against it…
MetsBlog: Sounds good. Thanks, Alex…
BronxBanter: Later…
“I’m not going anywhere,” Gary Sheffield is quoted by the New York Times as saying. “If I have to go somewhere, I won’t go. If they said, ‘Wouldn’t you want to get paid?’ I’d say, ‘I’ve got plenty of money.’ I’m not playing nowhere else. I can promise you that.”…
…lovely…what a guy…
…and that’s the thing, i can’t believe omar minaya and willie randolph, two people who talk quite extensively about the camaraderie of the clubhouse, would swap mike cameron, who has been described as one of the greatest clubhouse-guys in the league, for sheffield, a notorious curmudgeon…
In the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch cites a major league executive as saying the Mets and Yankees have discussed a trade that would swap Mike Cameron and Miguel Cairo for Gary Sheffield…
…wow…
…and it actually makes sense, which is the scary part…
…for what it’s worth, i talked to a few people over the weekend, during the ‘subway series,’ who said the yankees were open to trading sheffield…
“The Mets are believed to be seriously interested in Sheffield, and are now waiting for the Yankees to make a formal offer,” writes Klapisch…
Sheffiled will earn $13 million this season and next, while Cameron is guaranteed $6.5 million this year and next. As Klapisch suggests, it is likely the Mets will ask the Yankees to take on part of Sheffield’s salary, which is a conversation I am sure will go over quite well with George Steinbrenner…
Neither Cameron nor Sheffield have a no-trade clause in their contracts…
Speaking of Cairo, though he was slated to play games yesterday and today in Port St. Lucie, he is, instead, expected to re-join the Mets when he is eligible to come off the disabled list tomorrow…
…hey, for the record, eric, who posts on the comments section here at metsblog, suggested a similar trade to me yesterday, of which he began, ‘i know this is crazy, but,’…
…i guess it’s not that crazy, huh, eric…nice job…
Joel Sherman of the New York Post adds that in addition to Cairo and Cameron, the Yankees could also ask the Mets to include a young pitcher in the deal…
…which could help off-set the yankees picking up part of sheffield’s salary, i suppose…
Sherman also points out that $9 million of Sheffield’s salary is deferred until between 2008-2016 without interest…
Gotham Baseball has taken this all one step further, citing information from their people…
…whatever that means…
GB believes the deal also includes Tony Womack, Victor Diaz and Aaron Heilman…
…now that’s a bit much…naturally i question the validity of this rumor to begin with, but i can’t believe the mets would take on $8.5 million in salary this season and next season, while acquiring a guy notorious for causing chaos in a clubhouse, to the tune of trading victor diaz, aaron heilman and the most-popular guy in the clubhouse…
…i’m skeptical, especially since the yankees could snag juan encarnacion for a lot less, while keeping sheffield…
…it’s interesting never-the-less…
