Daily Archives: May 4, 2006
The Mets defeated the Pirates by a score of 6 to 0 tonight at Shea Stadium…
…a few thoughts…
…give a game ball to Tom Glavine, who looks to be simply playing a light game of catch with Paul Lo Duca these days…the man is on total cruise control, having allowed zero runs over seven innings tonight while striking out 10…10 k’s…unreal…does he even break a sweat on nights like this…i’m actually ashamed of myself for having ever thought about not wanting this guy to qualify for this current option year on his contract…i mean, really, i’m a fool for having lost faith in him…as a longtime fan of his, i should have known better…
…speaking of lo duca…listen, nothing against the bee gees…i mean, i was born in 1975 so i dig the whole saturday night fever thing as much as the next cat, but to like it so much you are willing to use it as your entrance music in front of 50,000 new yorkers…well, i’m not sure if that’s guts or insanity, but it’s certainly something, Mr. Disco Lo Duca…
…what do you suppose would happen if the mets forced Jose Reyes to only bat right-handed…his swing is so nice as a righty, and such a mess as a lefty…i don’t know, but it’s something to think about…
…when David Wright motors around the bases, it looks like he is waving invisible men out of his way…speaking of wright…i was feeling he was heading out of his slump, but now that we saw him go the other way on an outside fastball to plate a runner from third, we know it’s over…well done, d-dubbs, as my buddy johnny likes to call you…
…point Xavier Nady…point Endy Chavez…point nady…point chavez…and tonight, again, point nady…i like this game…
…hey, Jose Valentin, welcome to 2006…glad you could make it…
…lastly, i think drinks are on Chris Woodward tonight…
…nice, easy win, gentlemen…now get some rest, atlanta’s coming to town…
The Game…
The Mets (18–9) and their five game lead in the National League East, take on the Pirates (8–21) for the final game of a two game series tonight at Shea Stadium starting at 7:10 p.m. EDT…
The Pitchers…
LHP Tom Glavine (3–2, 2.29 ERA) starts for the Mets … Left-handed batters are hitting .148 in 27 at-bats against Glavine this season … Having walked just six batters in his first 26 innings, he has walked seven over his last 13.1 … The Mets have lost two of Glavine’s last three starts … Glavine is 3–for-8 at the plate this season … Pirates OF Jason Bay is 3–for-8 against Glavine, with a homer and a double … Pirates OF Jeromy Burnitz, however, is 6–for-31, sporting eight strike outs…
LHP Paul Maholm (1–3, 5.86 ERA) takes the hill for the Pirates … this is Maholm’s first career starts against the Mets … Right-handed batters have five home runs against him in 88 at-bats … No Mets batter has ever faced him … by the way, according to the team’s notes, his last name is pronounced, Ma-Hah-Loam, which makes no sense based on its spelling…
The Notes…
Carlos Beltran has just one hit in his last 11 at-bats, Kaz Matsui has two hits in his last 13 at-bats, Cliff Floyd has just two hits in his last 12, and David Wright is one for his last 12…
Paul Lo Duca has a six-game hitting streak, during which he is batting .360 in 25 at-bats with two home runs and four RBI…
Duaner Sanchez has retired 11 of the first 12 batters he has faced when entering a game. Meanwhile, Bill Wagner has allowed six of the first 14 batters he has faced to reach base…
The Mets are 3–1 against left-handed starters…
The Bleachers…
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…
Peter L, from Fishkill, NY, writes…
“I know that Kaz Matsui‘s presence, and so far satisfactory production, makes this an article that would have been more interesting a month or so ago, but it troubles me nonetheless…
“FoxSports.com’s look at the top second base prospects has 2B Jeff Keppinger listed as the 10th best in the minors…
“In fact, despite acknowledging the fact that Keppinger is rather old for a prospect, the column’s author, Dayn Perry, argues that, “He makes a better long-term solution at second than Anderson Hernandez does.”…
“I know there are questions about Hernandez’s ability, especially with his anemic major league hitting stats, but could this really be the case?”…
…as I often do when i have a question about the mets minor league talent, i turned to Matthew Meyers, who writes for Baseball America, as i respect his knowledge of the team’s system as much as anyone…
According to Meyers, who talked with me a bit about the situation…
“Keppinger has always shown the ability to hit for average, and should be able to do so in the big leagues. Though it was a small sample, Hernandez looked overmatched at the plate with the Mets. I would take Keppinger right now for this season if I had to choose, though I am not sure if either of them is a championship caliber second baseman and see them both more as utilitymen. It seems moot now because based on the way Matsui is playing, he is doing enough to hold down the job considering how much money he is making. I am not sure if the Mets see either of those guys as the second baseman of the future, though Hernandez has more upside because he is younger. Keppinger is 26, what you see is what you get.”…
By the way, to purchase Baseball America’s 2006 Prospect Handbook and 2006 Almanac, go to BaseballAmerica.com……
…thanks, matt…
…i like hernandez a lot…however, while he hit the ball well at triple-a, as matt says, he does look overmatched up at shea…honestly, it doesn’t even look as though he could get the ball over the head of an outfielder…he’s a light hitter, to say the least…the kid can field the ball, though…
…the buzz from shea is that the team will always go with the hot hand…that being said, it appears to be matsui’s job to lose at this point…also, GM Omar Minaya is not of the mindset to just let young talent sit on the bench…therefore, if matsui is playing well, it would seem keppinger and hernandez are destin for other assignments…
In his weekly chat at ESPN.com, Jim Callis of Baseball America wrote about a variety of Mets minor leaguers, including OF Fernando Martinez, OF Lastings Milledge and RHP Mike Pelfrey, who the BA editor ranks ahead of Sox RHP Jon Lester, Yankees RHP Philip Hughes and O’s RHP Adam Loewen and Hayden Penn…
On Martinez, Callis types, “Fernando Martinez has been a revelation in the Sally League,” describing the 17–year-old as “real,” not a “mirage.”…
…hat tip to michael, from the metropolitans, for the link…
Mets GM Omar Minaya spent two innings talking with SNY’s Gary Cohen and Ron Darling during last night’s broadcast…
…this was an excellent interview, by the way…cohen should do more of this type of thing…again, because he is a professional fan, so to speak, he has the stature required to speak with people like minaya, coupled with the tact and forcefulness that is necessary to ask the clever questions that we, as fans, are all thinking…great stuff…
Asked about the culture of the team, and whether he intentionally set out to build a certain style of club, Minaya told Cohen and Darling that he is ‘proud’ of the team so far, specifically regarding what he’s been able to accomplish for the team’s bench, such as bringing in Ramon Castro, Chris Woodward and Julio Franco, whose presence he feels is helping the Mets as much as his absense is hurting the Braves…
Minaya also spoke of how proud he is of the work being done in the minor leagues, with acquisitions such as Mike Pelfrey and Fernando Martinez, and is confident in the organization’s ability to compete long-term, especially given the acquisitions of major-league talent that the team can control for years to come, like Duaner Sanchez and Xavier Nady…
Ultimately, Minaya explained, the team’s goal for the future is to build a ‘good, fun and exciting product’ that plays a strong brand of ‘National League baseball.’…
Regarding Pelfrey specifically, Minaya is confident that the youngster could’ve easily started the year at Double-A, or even Triple-A, but preferred to see him begin in a warmer climate. The GM explained that Pelfrey’s ‘raw ability’ is not in question, nor are his stats, that the team has no time table for him, and he could easily skip Triple-A if need be. Instead, he explained, the team will need to be sure that Pelfrey is ready ‘mentally,’ before bringing him to the majors, as long as he is filling a reasonable role…
…in other words, the team will not call the kid up to take pedro’s spot, should pedro hit the disabled list…pelfrey could, however, be a solid addition to the back-end of the rotation, when the time comes…
Asked about his day in general, Minaya told Cohen and Darling that he gets up early and works out, and then reads the Internet to see what is happening around the league…
…and by that i hope he means metsblog.com…come on, omar, if you’re a reader, you’ve got to let me know, man…
Minaya is always looking to improve and upgrade the ballclub, he explained, especially in the starting rotation, while keeping in constant contact with his staff, not just at the major-league level and in the clubhouse, but at the minor-league level, as well, since, as he put it, “being a General Manager is about managing people.”…
According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers have no plan to promote veteran RHP Aaron Sele from Triple-A, and could end up releasing him within the next few days…
In 1,996 career innings, Sele is 137–104 with a 4.59 ERA. In 21 starts for Seattle last season, he was 6–12 with a 5.66 ERA, while striking just 53 batters in 116 innings. He has never pitched for a National League team…
The guys at Trades, Tirades and GM Grades wonder if the Mets should make a play for Sele, asking, “how much worse can he be then Darren Oliver or throwing rookies up during a hopeful pennant run?”…
…umm, a lot worse, actually…
…quite frankly, i’d much rather RHP Brian Bannister and RHP John Maine, while i wait for RHP Alay Soler or RHP Mike Pelfrey to emerge from the minors…
At SI.com, John Donovan suggests that free-agent RHP Roger Clemens has not yet told 
Donovan puts the Astros as the odds-on-favorites to land Clemens, followed by the Yankees, then the Red Sox and, lastly, the Rangers…
According to the Houston Chronicle, the Astros have already offered Clemens a deal worth $12 million in exchange for his services through the remainder of the season…
The New York Times reports that Clemens will make a decision by June 15…
…i’m having images of him in a mets uniform, and it’s making very, very uncomfortable…i feel guilty, like i’m cheating on Mike Piazza…
…here’s a question for you…
Assuming the Mets were interested, would you want Clemens on the Mets…
…one thing i do know, though, is that if clemens were to pitch for the mets, with Pedro Martinez on the team, as well, if i were a batter, i’d bring an extra helmet…
Will at Deadspin.com asks, “Is Billy Wagner the New Vince Coleman.”…
…ouch, buddy…bite your tongue…
Will writes, “We won’t say that New York is a glass-is-half-empty kind of a place, because, well, someone has stolen the glass.”…
…by the way, this is why i have made my this t-shirt my official mets shirt for 2006, which you may have seen me wearing at a game or on a recent episode of SNY’s Mets Weekly…
…oh, and be nice, will, new york loves you…
By way of MLB Trade Rumors, according to Will Carroll at Baseball Prospectus, “Oliver Perez and Ryan Doumit are being dangled to the Phillies.”…
…i don’t get it…why…
…all i’ve been reading about for a week is how Phillies RHP Cole Hamels, the team’s 2002 first-round pick, is the second coming of Steve Carlton…plus they have two other pitching prospects who they are equally high on…
In six starts this season for the Pirates, Perez, 24, is 1–4 with a 7.53 ERA. He has walked 23 batters, while striking out just 25 in 28 innings pitched. In 95 career starts, spanning five seasons, he is 28–34 and has averaged nearly one home run allowed in each of them…
…i know the hype…but i am not sure i would ever trade that much to get this guy, who will be a free-agent after this season…
For those of you who did not get to see Endy Chavez’s flying catch during last night’s game, here you go…
…the best part is how he comes flying into the picture…no viewer from home had any idea he was even near the ball, let alone able to catch it…also, i give him a 8.5 on the slide, which had to be at least a ten foot skid…well done…
…hat tip to jason, at always amazin, for finding the youtube link…
