Monthly Archives: March 2006
It appears the team’s 25–man roster will be as follows…
Starting Pitchers: Pedro Martinez, Brian Bannister, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel and Victor Zambrano
Bullpen: Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Jorge Julio, Pedro Feliciano and Chad Bradford…
While appearing on ESPN 1050 in New York, Mets GM Omar Minaya said Bannister would start on Wednesday, April 5, in place of Zambrano, who left Friday’s game with a strained hamstring…
Catchers: Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro…
Infielders: Carlos Delgado, Anderson Hernandez, Jose Reyes, David Wright, Chris Woodward, Julio Franco and Jose Valentin…
Outfielders: Carlos Beltran, Cliff Floyd, Xavier Nady, Victor Diaz and Endy Chavez…
…bring on the nationals…
Mets RHP Victor Zambrano left today’s game with what is initially being called a “slight strain” to his hamstring…
…the early buzz from camp is that the team is taking a wait-n-see approach, but typically a slight strain is worthy of missing at least one start…if it turns out to be a cramp, he will miss no time at all…in either case, do not expect RHP Aaron Heilman to fill in, as the team will more than likely just re-shuffle the first week’s rotation…one thing was certain regarding this heilman situation, in that the team has no desire to jerk him around any further…if he’s in the bullpen, he’s in the bullpen…
According to WFAN, RHP Jose Lima, LHP Darren Olver and RHP Heath Bell have been told they will not be reporting north when the team breaks camp…
Lima has accepted an assignment to pitch in Triple-A, contradicting what he told reporters yesterday…
…this either means that both Pedro Feliciano and Yusaku Iriki have made the club and Victor Diaz is headed back to norfolk…
…or, it means that diaz is safe and one of feliciano and iriki, most likely iriki, are staying behind…
…or, it means that Omar Minaya will sell all of these players to Japan, for capital, and invest in building a time machine, so he can go back and not trade Kris Benson, who no longer has Anna as baggage…
Mark Hale of the New York Post is reporting that the Mets have re-signed P Mitch Wylie and will report to Norfolk…
Hale also claims the Mets have released P Matt Perisho, P Mike Venafro, P Jeremy Hill and P Kole Strayhorn…
Tagged Minors |
This weekend, SportsNet New York’s Mets Weekly will air the blogger’s roundtable that I took part in, along with Andrew from MetsGeek, Steve from Eddie Kranepool Society, and Greg from Faith and Fear in 
Flushing…
The show will air on SNY at 12:30 PM and 9:30 PM on Saturday, as well as 7:30 and 11:30 PM on Sunday, and will re-run at various times through the following week…
Many have asked me where MetsBlog’s 2006 Predictions are. Frankly, I am not psychic, and do not believe I am that smart, so I tend to avoid the entire process. Also, as a basic fan of the game, I know that one of the things that makes it so great is its unpredictability. Taking time to override this, for me, would remove a lot of what I find fun about the game…
Having said that, I received a bevy of instant messages and e-mails this week asking whether or not certain players and teams could do certain things…this is a slightly different question than predicting an outcome, so I’ll address the more popular ones here…
1) Will Carlos Delgado crack under the pressure of New York, just like Carlos Beltran, Roberto Alomar, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, and other big name players, as they made the transition from small market to big…
If men are on base, Delgado will most likely drive them in. It’s that simple. His attitude, his charm, his focus and his experience all make me believe he will be un-phased by New York City, and will drive in runs no matter what city or planet he plays on…
He’s done it in a hitter’s park, in a pitcher’s park, in the National League, in the American League, with no protection, tons of protection, with men on base and none on base…
More than talent, though, I see a look in his eye that says he only cares about winning and hitting. That’s it. He doesn’t appear to be opportunistic or have anything to prove on the world’s largest stage, a vibe similar to what Pedro Martinez conveyed a year ago, as well…
I would bank on Delgado hitting over .280, while putting at least 30 balls over the fence and plating over 100 runners. I just see no reason why this trend will not continue, whether in New York or on Mars…
2) Can the Mets make the playoffs if Pedro Martinez does not make 30 starts…
Martinez holds the keys to a successful season for the Mets, not just because of what he brings to the hill, but because of what he brings in terms of stature. For all of Omar Minaya’s acquisitions, 
Martinez is the man who makes the Mets matter. He’s their ace on the hill, in the clubhouse, on television, at the ticket booth and, most importantly, in the minds of the 29 other teams…
If Martinez is unable to make 30 starts, it could kill this team – if for no other reason than it may demoralize them, as well as the fans…and, if you’ve been watching over the last few seasons, the Braves stop for nobody and will steamroll over any team in crisis…
The thing is, it will take a lot to put Martinez out of business…
For all the ink that is spilled mulling over his durability, he’s only made less than 29 starts once in the last ten years, which doesn’t include his many Octobers, all while pitching with a torn labrum, a sore back and a toe with deteriorating cartilage. He is able to push on, because, even though his raw, youthful talent is waning, his intelligence and his attitude compensate for whatever he may have lost. Anyone who can get an All-Star hitter to swing and miss at an 83–mph fastball, as if it were thrown by a young Nolan Ryan, is doing something right…
If Martinez can stand upright, he’ll make 30 starts…
3) Will Carlos Beltran live up to the large contract he was given heading into last season…
Carlos Beltran will never live up to his $119-million price tag, at least not in the way many fantasy baseball fans will want him to. Beltran will never be Carlos Delgado, he’ll never be Alex Rodriguez. Instead, he is a pinch of Paul Konerko, a touch of Torii Hunter and a dash of David 
Eckstein. When he’s more Konerko he’ll get cheered like a $119 million player, and when he’s pushing bunts like Eckstein he will not…
Winning clearly drives Beltran, who played hurt, if not mashed up, during most of last season. This year he’ll run more, he’ll dive more and he’ll show fans why he is considered around baseball to be a true five-tool player. The addition of Delgado, a good friend to Beltran, will allow him to relax and remove himself from the spot light. His team-first attitude will go well with this club, and by the end of the season, if the team wins a Championship, I’m sure most fans will say he’s earned a fair share of what the Mets will eventually pay him…
4) Will we see Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfrey before the season is over…
During December of last year, the Mets began talking about Milledge in the same way they talked about Jose Reyes in early 2003, and David Wright in early 2004. He is not going to be traded, 
and I would not be surprised if he steals right-field away from Victor Diaz and Xavier Nady in the weeks leading up to September…
Pelfrey will need to show that he can consistently fool professional hitters with his off-speed pitch before the team brings him up to Shea. If he can do this by mid-summer, though they’d prefer to keep him at Norfolk, Pelfrey could provide a much-needed boost to the starting rotation, instead of the team being forced to make a trade…
Both players will not be the difference between the Mets making the playoffs or falling short of October. However, they should be more than capable of contributing by the end of the summer…
5) Can the Mets make the playoffs…
If the incredibly rosey picture, which I painted above, comes to fruition, yes, the Mets can make the playoffs…
However, all I ask is that this team is fun to watch. I’m a simple man. Give me an exciting playoff race, a little hope, some intriguing story lines, a villain to root against and a rally-cry to memorize and I’m a happy fan…
This team is more than capable of fulfilling all these qualities, and I can’t wait for it all to get underway…
Congratulations to Bradley Epstein, who, within one minute and 15 seconds, was the first to know Bobby Ojeda was the hungover Met who slept on Keith Hernandez’s couch the night of the Game 7 World Series triumph…
This question and answer comes courtesy of Jeff Pearlman, author of the outstanding book, The Bad Guys Won…
…and to the guy who guess David Wright, shame on you…the kid was three-years-old…ouch…
In exchange for being the first to answer this question, Epstein will recieve a free copy of 
the recently released Mets 1986 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD, produced by A&E and MLB…
Featuring new and exclusive interviews with Mookie Wilson, Gary Carter, Ray Knight, Keith Hernandez, Lenny Dykstra and Bill Buckner, among others, the Mets 1986 World Series Collector’s Edition DVD set includes all eight complete game broadcasts from the team’s magical 
World Championship series, from the 16-inning, pennant-clinching victory in Houston to the team’s final out in New York against the Red Sox in Game Seven…
If you did not win a set of DVDs during our giveaway this week, I encourage you to go to MLB.com and buy your copy today…
As camps break, and teams head north, writers from all walks of life love to push forth predictions on how they foresee the coming season. For instance, some will focus strictly on who will win each division’s MVP, or Cy Young, while others project how each division’s standing will look…
Here are a few for you to catch up on, should you feel the need to think ahead…
The Reno Gazette-Journal, of Nevada, predicts that the Mets will defeat the Yankees in seven games during this year’s World Series, noting, “For the first time since 1986, the Mets have everything they need to win the World Series.”…
…i find this very odd, coming from reno…
Meanwhile, at ESPN.com, while 14 of their 18 writers believe the Mets will make the playoffs, with six predicting a division title and the rest opting for the Wild Card, only two believe they’ll 
reach the World Series, and both predict a loss, one against the White Sox, the other against the Angels…
In Sports Illustrated, Tom Verducci gives the NL East to Atlanta, but sees the Mets winning the Wild Card, as long as Pedro Martinez makes 30 starts…
Also at ESPN.com, Alan Schwarz explains why he feels the Mets will be in the Wild Card hunt, comparing them to the 2003 Marlins, who eventually won a World Championship. Ken Rosenthal seems to agree, at FOXSports.com…
…offensively they are very similar to that marlins team…on the mound, however, it’s a lot different…either way, i’ll gladly take similar results…
King Kaufman, at Salon.com, predicts that the Mets will actually beat out Atlanta, but does so because he refuses to pick the Braves, and is “tired of picking the Phillies and being disappointed.”…
…said mike schmidt…
Locally, at Gotham Baseball, Mark Healey believes the Mets will not only win the division, but sees the Braves finishing third…
…i could be wrong, but healey is the only writer who does not have atlanta in the post-season…bold, man…very bold…
Meanwhile, in the New York Post, Mark Hale expects the Mets to still finish second, win the Wild Card and lose to the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. Also at the Post, Joel 
Sherman predicts that David Wright will win the National League MVP, while adding that fans should not be surprised if Tom Glavine “outperforms” Martinez…
…i’d much prefer they both outperform Tim Hudson and John Smoltz…
Continuing with specific players, at MLB.com, Jim Street puts OF Xavier Nady on his list of breakout players from the National League…
Meanwhile, of the 18 writers at ESPN.com, two believe Carlos Delgado will the National League MVP, while four think the award will go to David Wright. One writer, Pedro Gomez, sees Billy Wagner as the league’s eventual Cy Young Award winner…
At FOXSports.com, Dayn Perry also predicts that Delgado will win the MVP, noting, “Expect 40 homers, 100 walks, lots of RBIs and MVP hardware for Delgado this year,” while adding that Mets GM Omar Minaya will win NL Executive of the Year…
By the way, Perry is the author of the new book, Winners: How Good Baseball Teams Become Great Ones…
…this is an excellent book…i talked with perry last week about the project, and it is a wonderful mix of stats, fundamentals and baseball philosophy…i highly reccomend it…
Lastly, to get an idea of how fans from around the country are seeing the coming season, go to MLBBracket.com, which aims to break down fan tendencies based on geography…
…i don’t typically make plugs like this, but a) i’m pathetically addicted to American Idol, and b) luke is a guest blogger here at metsblog…so, here you go…
Our buddy, Luke Halpert, has a Musicspace page at Myspace.com called Cooler Than Warm Milk. His goal, as he points it, is to embarrass himself as much as possible. For instance, this week he belts out tunes by Led Zeppelin and the Doors, among others…
…good luck, man…i think…
…the chatter around new york involving DirecTV, DISH and SportsNet New York is getting very, very quiet, much like it did in the day’s prior to the announced agreement between SNY and Cablevision…
…in fact, as several readers have pointed out to me via email, DirecTV’s program guide currently lists SNY as set to appear on channel 625, yet it still is not on the air…an indication that 
space has been allocated…the same can be said for DISH, which shows a similar hold on channel 438…
…my feel is that something will either be announced today, or tomorrow, on both ends, so stay tuned…
…meanwhile, subscribers to SusCom and Adelphia will most likely have to wait until early-summer, when their sale to Comcast is complete…
LHP Billy Wagner, on his talk with Aaron Heilman, who was recently put in the bullpen, after having thought he’d end up being a starter, as quoted by Eric Pfahler at TCPalm.com…
“I told him, ‘How’s it feel to be a part of the best bullpen in baseball?’…
“I know he was upset, it what he wanted to do, but, ‘Hey, you’ve got a chance to make us 10 times better and you’ve got a chance to be a part of something special.’ It’s not a knock to go to the bullpen anymore…
“I don’t think anybody should make any more out of the competition between Brian Bannister and Heilman because obviously both of them could have started. But Aaron has that experience in the bullpen and being so dominant, that’s a great situation to have.”…
…word…
