Daily Archives: May 2, 2006
In the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch explains why Mets RHP Pedro Martinez has been so successful this season…
Klapisch writes…
“There are three ways a pitcher can attack a hitter. Up and down (changing a hitter’s eye level), in and out (working both sides of the plate) and back and forth (changing speeds)… “Martinez uses them all to stunning perfection, which makes his 88 mph fastball just as effective as Smoltz’s 94, if not more so.”… …actually, who even knows if that special, super-terrific, magic, miraculous sneaker has been the key to pedro’s success, but i can’t help but think back to how paranoid i was when it looked like pedro was going to be slowed by his toe’s aches-n-pains…i suppose there is a chance that the toe creeps up to be a problem later in the season…in the meantime, much like he did with the toe, i trust that his ability to out-think, adjust and execute will get him through any adversity…
…thank you, nike…
While appearing on SNY’s Daily News Live, market-guru Ken Rosenthal of the Sporting News talked of the coming trade market for starting pitchers, a market that the Mets most certainly will try to be a buyer in…
Rosenthal explains…
“It’s a very thin list that’s gonna be available at the deadline. It’s a huge problem that the Mets, and other teams in contention, the Yankees will be another one, are going to have. Most teams that are low-revenue clubs, even they have signed their pitchers, like Ben Sheets and Roy Oswalt, Johan Santana is another example. So, there’s not going to be that quality out there.”…
Since taking over for Art Howe, Willie Randolph is 100–87 as the team’s manager, a .534 winning percentage…
According to league rules, free-agent RHP Roger Clemens is now officially able to negotiate a new contract, assuming he wants to return to action…
According to a report in the Houston Chronicle, the Astros are prepared to pay Clemens the prorated equivalent of $18 million per season, the same amount he made last season with Houston…
Meanwhile, Yankess GM Brian Cashman tells the New York Times that his team has no plan to talk with Clemens about a contract, even though the GM admittedly keeps in contact via e-mail with his former CY Young winner…
In Newsday, Mark Herrmann writes about Mets OF Cliff Floyd, who has just eight hits spanning his last 42 at-bats, despite striking out at a lesser rate than he did last season, while hitting nearly every ball hard…
Through it, writes Herrmann, Floyd remains up beat, telling the writer, “We’ve got a great team, and you know what? Production-wise, I haven’t been good, but us winning has kept me sane.”…
…as willie keeps saying, floyd will be fine…
…in fact, i dig willie’s spin, which says that floyd’s slump is sort of a good thing, in that when he gets hot, which he will, it will likely coincide with another player’s slump, and all will come out even…
…that’s nothing but rhetoric, of course…but it’s a nice thought…
…regardless, it’s only a matter of time before these bb’s that floyd is hitting begin to fall in…hopefully he doesn’t get too dejected before this happens…
In a 2 to 1 win by the Mets last night, RHP Victor Zambrano allowed five hits, one run and two walks, while striking out four…
Mets OF Cliff Floyd, as quoted by the Bergen Record…
“This was huge, only it’s bigger for him than us. If you ask me, he has some of the nastiest stuff on the team. He just needed to remember that.”…
Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson, on importance of a successful Zambrano, as quoted by the New York Post…
“He couldn’t keep going out there and pitching like he was. On a team the caliber we have, everybody in this room has to contribute. We expect – and more important, Victor himself expects – him to contribute. It was important, a big outing for him…
“I know he felt he wanted to be a part of this, contribute like he’s capable of, and he did. It weighs on anybody. When you’re not contributing, it’s not a good feeling. I know he wants to feel like he’s a part of what we’re doing, and [last night] he did.”…
Peterson, being strategic, as quoted by MLB.com…
“It’s the ability to take each hitter as a separate game. As a starter, you want to win a minimum of 18 ‘games.’ That puts you through six innings…It’s a matter of being very tough mentally.”…
…question: is peterson capable of giving a quote that is anything short of an essay, which is seemingly written by confucius…i don’t think he is…the man absolutely fascinates me…
Mets GM Omar Minaya, as quoted by the Daily News…
“We’re going to give him an opportunity, but like anything else there comes a time when you have to perform.”…
…fact is, the mets need zambrano…their options, at least for now, are limited in terms of who they can replace him with, should they feel he is truly replaceable…therefore, he needs to feel like a winner, because in baseball confidence is key…so, rick and cliff are correct, in that this was a huge win for him because he can now take solace in being part of a winning team, not just the black sheep that will kill a winning streak…hopefully he can build on this…if nothing else, it certainly adds to the team’s overall confidence in itself…
…the thing with zambrano is that he can remain under 90–mph, and he can even be ‘effectively erratic,’ or whatever willie often describes him as, as long as he keeps the ball down…if he walks a guy, which he will, if he keeps the ball down in the zone, guys will swing and repeatedly hit into double plays, or at minimum reduce the chances of those big innings he falls victim to…since last summer, however, he has been leaving balls not only up, but out over the plate, regardless of where the catcher’s target was…i’ll give him a high-five for pitching well enough to win last night, but i cannot get totally on board until i see him consistently keep the ball below the batter’s belt…
Addressing the media on SNY following last night’s win over the Nationals, the team’s manager, Willie Randolph, had the following to say regarding…
2B Jose Reyes not running hard out of the box, then getting thrown out attempting to turn a double into a triple…
“I thought he ran hard out of the box, he just made a bad call in trying to go to third base…
“Jose is always aggressive. I didn’t really see him come out of the box, he always runs hard, hustles all the time, it’s just that the play was in front of him, he got a little overly aggressive and that happens sometimes. He’s a young player, he was a little over-zealous there, but he’s fine. He’s hit a lot of triples, and I guess he smelled triple there and got a little too aggressive, but Jose’s fine. He plays hard for me every day and every once in a while you’re gonna make a mistake.”…
RHP Victor Zambrano, who allowed one run over six innings…
“I don’t lend a whole lot of particular interest in scrutinizing what he does every game. I know he’s gonna get better. Victor’s a fine pitcher and sometimes guys get off to slow starts. I’m anticipating that Victor’s gonna get it together and be more consistent for us and tonight he started it…
“He threw the ball free and seemed like he had a nice little rhythm going. That’s really what it boils down to with him, it’s just repeating his delivery and throwing early strikes. I thought he did a good job tonight. He threw the ball well and that’s what we need him to do: to be consistent…
“He’s got good enough stuff that if he throws strikes he’s ball is naturally gonna move. He’s got sink action on it and get more ground balls. Obviously when the ball is up, like most pitchers, you’re gonna get hurt. Victor was fine for us tonight…I still have a lot of confidence in Zambrano.”…
The team’s strong bullpen…
“That’s ideally what we want to do: shorten the game up. We feel real good about our bullpen. Everyone’s gonna contribute. Guys like Chad Bradford, and Jorge Julio has been throwing the ball better, he’s making mistakes here and there but he’s gonna be fine. Pedro Feliciano did a nice job tonight. So, we like our bullpen, it’s solid and if we can score early we can shorten the game up because we feel good about our bullpen.”…
The Mets blogosphere had a lot to say following the team’s walk-off win on an error last night…
At Yankees 2000: Promote the Curse, a friend of Robin’s writes that this actually appears to be the ‘New Mets,’ noting, “this brand of baseball the Mets are putting on the field is, well, new.”…
At Metstradamus, John tells us to not feel guilty about winning on an error, writing, “why shouldn’t the Mets take advantage of the inaptitude of others when so many other National League teams took advantage of Mike Piazza‘s arm for years?”…
…agreed…all is fair in love and baseball…
At Mets Walk-offs, Mark, our favorite sports researchers, tells us that, “Monday marked only the second time in team history that the Mets won a regular season…game on a walk-off error by the opposing pitcher.”…
…how does mark know all that he knows…talk about your amazing mets…
Jason, at Faith and Fear, gives an ‘attaboy’ to Victor Zambrano, and compliments the pitcher by noting, “that first-inning K of Nick Johnson with a fastball in on the hands.”…
…except that lo duca called for the ball away, knowing that johnson typically hits the inside fastball…
Meanwhile, Mike, at Mike’s Mets, writes of Zambrano, “If he can’t get his fastball back into the low 90s, he’s not Pedro, he probably won’t beat good offensive teams in hitters parks.”…
…that’s a great point…i don’t typically watch the radar gun, because i feel it is overrated…however, in the case of zambarno, mike’s right…because he is a one dimensional pitcher, his fastball matters, especially if he’s going to miss the target like he did with johnson…without any velocity, he’s just out there hoping for success, much like the rest of us when watching him…
At MiracleMets.net, Chris ponders, “Shouldn’t they waive the whole “unearned run on an error” thing when the error is on the pitcher?”…
…interesting…i had never thought about that, and it does make sense…i mean, it was his error…pretty funny…
Lastly, Dan in Texas, at Lonestar Met, asks, “Remember when the Mets lost those games? This year does feel very different.”…
…so far so good…just remember, folks, the gods tend to take back what they giveth in this game…what goes around, comes around…few teams have ever steamrolled through an entire season, so while i am not saying i expect the ball to start bouncing the other way, i will say i am doing my best to keep my balance…after all, i am a mets fan, in that my heart contains a mix of blue-n-orange skepticism…
