Monthly Archives: March 2006
…the buzz from camp is that an announcement on the team’s final 25–man roster could come as early as tonight, though most likely tomorrow night…the only thing that anyone seems to agree on, from beat writers to insiders, is that the club will carry a lefty in the pen, most likely LHP Pedro Feliciano…the final debate is between whether to keep OF Victor Diaz, and go with six pitchers in the pen…or, send diaz to triple-a, and retain a seventh reliever, either a power-arm like RHP Heath Bell, or a long-reliever, like RHP Jose Lima or LHP Darren Olver…
In the Journal News, John Delcos feels the team is leaning towards sending Diaz down, while keeping the extra arm in the bullpen…
“He still might make the team,” Delcos quotes Randolph as saying about Diaz…
…still…jeez…i’m sure that does not inspire confidence for diaz…
However, while appearing on WFAN late last night, Ed Coleman siad he sees the team keeping Diaz, unless, of course, they sense Pedro Martinez may be unable to pitch deep in games during April, in which case they may side with keeping the long-reliever…
As Adam Rubin writes in the Daily News, the debate may also come down to whether keeping Diaz’s power on the bench is worth giving the youngster, who still needs work, so few at-bats at the major-league level when he could start every day in Triple-A…
“I have nothing to prove in Triple-A,” Diaz is quoting as saying by Mark Hale in the New York Post…
…if i were at the helm, i think i’d keep the extra arm as insurance against martinez and Brian Bannister, who has yet to throw a pitch in the major-leagues, while allowing diaz time to swing the bat, and monitoring nady, who has not exactly looked well at the plate of late…if nady struggles, diaz will hopefully be in a groove and martinez’s and bannister’s regular season status will be known, at which time the team can demote the extra pitcher and replace him with diaz, who then will start in right…or, nady excels and things stay as they are…
Pedro Martinez is slated to throw four innings today against the Cardinals. His next start will be during the regular season, on Thursday, April 6, against the Nationals…
…crazy to think pedro, who did little work through the off-season while nursing his toe, will have only thrown seven innings during spring training before making his first regular season start…
Meanwhile, LHP Billy Wagner told reporters he expects to pitch in tomorrow’s final spring training game…
…i can’t believe i am posting this, but i had to do it given all the speculation associated with the trade…
According to her publicist, Anna Benson filed for divorce from O’s RHP Kris Benson claiming that the marriage is ‘irretrievably broken.’…
…jeez…
…so, does this mean the mets can get benson back…
…also, i certainly hope he didn’t cheat on her, because if he did, we all know what that means…
Q-Bert asks…
“I just don’t get it. Why would Willie bat Paul Lo Duca ahead of Carlos Beltran, who clearly should be batting second.”…
…well, willie hasn’t done anything yet, since the season hasn’t officially started…though many suspect he’ll do what you’re suggesting…
…also, i love the name you’ve chosen for your e-mail…great game, man…
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I dislike debating a lineup card, mostly because the conversation always turns to stats, and as many of you know I am not all that stats-inclined…
As I see it, Willie likes Lo Duca batting second because he has historically shown an ability to hit a fastball to right-field, something that will be extra beneficial when a first baseman is holding Jose Reyes on at first. Lo Duca can also work a count, and has far less power than Beltran, who could better serve the lineup batting third, ahead of Carlos Delgado…
…now, i’m sure someone will tell me that beltran has great numbers batting second…fine…that was also mostly with houston, in a stacked lineup, and more a product of him having no other place to hit from…as i see it, the key to filling out a lineup card is less about an individual’s past stats, and more about how he approaches the plate in certain situations and how that approach fits in with the other batters around him…
…at any rate, we can debate this all day long…however, at the end of the day, it all comes down to how willie sees it…
…right now, the buzz from camp is that willie will bat beltran second, and lo duca will bat behind David Wright, and ahead of Xavier Nady, until nady gets his groove back…he’s looked awful at the plate this last week…
Earlier this week, Mets manager Willie Randolph told reporters that he has five different lineups in his head, which all may be used at different points in the season...
…as best i can gather, here’s what could be on tap…
Against left-handed pitchers, with Lo Duca in the lineup…
1. Reyes
2. Lo Duca
3. Beltran
4. Delgado
5. Wright
6. Floyd
7. Nady
8. Hernandez
9. Pitcher
…batting wright fifth breaks up the two left-handed batters in floyd and delgado…
Against left-handed pitchers, when Lo Duca sits…
1. Reyes
2. Beltran
3. Delgado
4. Wright
5. Floyd
6. Nady
7. Castro
8. Hernandez
9. Pitcher
…again, wright splits up the two lefties, as beltran, who typically shows less power against lefties, bats second, where he’ll be more than happy to drop down a bunt…
Against right-handed pitchers, with Lo Duca…
1. Reyes
2. Lo Duca
3. Beltran
4. Delgado
5. Floyd
6. Wright
7. Nady
8. Hernandez
9. Pitcher
Against right-handed pitchers, without Lo Duca…
1. Reyes
2. Beltran
3. Delgado
4. Floyd
5. Wright
6. Nady
7. Castro
8. Hernandez
9. Pitcher
…against righties, wright returns to batting sixth…which i am sure will bring many, many fans to scream bloody murder, since it is hard to fathom the team’s second-best hitter not being maximized…
There is also a rumored combination that could put Wright batting second, Beltran batting third and Lo Duca batting behind Floyd…
…however, i have absolutely no idea in what scenario that would be used…
…on monday, given nady’s struggles, the lineup will probably look like this…
1. Reyes
2. Beltran
3. Delgado
4. Floyd
5. Wright
6. Lo Duca
7. Nady
8. Hernandez
9. Pitcher
…either way, this team is capable of giving any pitcher a fit…
…interesting…
Jose Lima, regarding his future with the Mets, as quoted by SportsNet NY during today’s game…
“Spring training is almost over, and I enjoy every day. I came here as a minor-league invitee, and I’m probably gonna get a shot to go as a long-reliever and, uhh, I mean, the Mets, they’ll make the call for me.”…
…did he just slip and tell us he’s been told, or at least has reason to believe, he’ll be with the club as a long reliever…or am i reading too much into this…
…anyway, i guess we’ll all find out after the game, or at least by saturday night…
Lima did tell SNY that he will not accept an assignment to pitch at Norfolk, a) because he has nothing to prove by pitching in Triple-A, and b) he prefers not to take a job away from a young player in the minor-leagues…
…fair enough…
According to Baseball America’s 2006 Organization Talent Rankings, the Mets check in with the third worst farm system in baseball, behind only the Reds and Padres…
…yikes…what’s worse, they rank the braves as seventh best…
BA writes, “It’s Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey and a lot of players who wouldn’t make other teams’ top 10s.”…
By the way, to purchase Baseball America’s 2006 Prospect Handbook and 2006 Almanac, go to BaseballAmerica.com……
…i’ll tell you what, if milledge and pelfrey join Anderson Hernandez, Brian Bannister, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Aaron Heilman on the major-league team, be it this season or next, i’d say the club will not have too much use for its farm system in the near future and can take it’s time rebuilding it over the next few seasons…
…also, for what it’s worth, the team had no qualms trading Mike Jacobs, Gaby Hernandez and Yusmiero Petit, because of their total confidence in what their baseball academy in the domincan republican will produce in the years to come, such as RHP Fernando Martinez and RHP Deolis Guerra…so, stay tuned, baseball america…
Congratulations to Erik Wuttke, who, within one minute and 40 seconds, was the first to know that Ed Lynch was the player to receive a 1986 World Series ring yet appeared in the fewest games that season…
This question and answer comes courtesy of Jeff Pearlman, author of the outstanding book, The Bad Guys Won…
In exchange for being the first to answer this question, Erik 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 were not the winner, don’t despair, I will be giving away my last set of DVDs tomorrow at 2 PM EDT…
However, if you’d rather not wait, go to MLB.com and buy your copy today…
…the buzz from mets camp initially was that RHP Aaron Heilman would soon ask for a trade, after having been teased with the opportunity to pitch in the starting rotation, only to be moved back to the bullpen…however, new buzz indicates that heilman will simply stifle it and do his job, knowing that baseball is a freakish game and a lot can change, and change fast…heilman seems to understand that a) he has no power to demand anything, and b) by pressing the issue, he sends a bad signal to potential employers down the road, and c) if he cries, and a spot in the rotation opens up, he looks like a fool…
Meanwhile, in the St. Petersberg Times, two writers speculate that the Rays could once again dangle 2B Julio Lugo in exchange for Heilman…
…in fact, there has been some online buzz, mostly in message boards, as well as on talk radio in florida, that a deal could be close…i have not heard such a thing, though that hardly means much, but it appears nobody out of new york has heard about this, as well…my guess is that this is simply coming from a place where people would rather chat these days about rumors than actual baseball…
…personally, my mind is fixed on opening day, and i sense the mets like their team exactly as it is, for now, and have no qualms going to battle with heilman in the pen and Anderson Hernandez at second…so, enough rumors, let’s play ball already…
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MetsBlog and BlogHarbor are offering a limited number of Free MiniBlogs, so you can start your very own MetsBlog in time for the start of the 2006 season and share your thoughts, insights and passion with your fellow fans…
Choose an address that expresses how you feel about your favorite team, like agee20.metsblog.com or sayheykid.metsblog.com, and so on…
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…the buzz from camp is that LHP Pedro Feliciano has all but locked up a spot in the team’s opening day bullpen…the last decision that needs to be made is whether or not to take Victor Diaz, or send him back to norfolk…the buzz, seems to be, that the club is leaning towards keeping diaz, and going with 6 pitchers in the bullpen…however, if they feel 7 pitchers are needed, at least through the first few weeks of the season, diaz will head to norfolk and Heath Bell will most likely stick around…
…either way, expect RHP Yusaku Iriki to head down to norfolk, possibly with RHP Jose Lima, while LHP Darren Oliver will most likely retire or try-out for another team…
…at any rate, don’t expect to hear any final news on this until late-saturday night…
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